Monday Rant

So I essentially wasted my entire night last night, staying up to watch the Steelers' game on NBC.  Despite the fact that I love the Steelers, I feel motivated to chew them out a little bit.  So here goes my newest, "Monday Rant".


1.) Bruce Arians was apparently drinking the care bear juice, sipping the kool-aid ... whatever you want to call it.  I think HE was the one concussed (not Big Ben), based on his second half play calling.  Normally, you can't be sure who called the plays since Ben calls many at the line.  But with Dennis Dixon starting, yeah ... I think we can be sure.  As well as Arians called plays to give Dixon room to be successful in the first half, he stunk up the joint in the second half.  Where were the play-actions and boot legs to get Dixon out of the pocket?  Was it just me, or did those plays REALLY WORK in the first half?


2.) Ike Taylor used to play corner back.  Now, I think all he does is play AT corner back.  Did you see the four different times he GOT AWAY with pass interference?  Oh, then there was that one time he DID get caught ... he used to be good.  Not really sure what happened ... maybe it's just a bad year ...


3.) How many Steelers does it take to tackle a 5', 8" running back who's smaller than just about every player on the Steelers D??  Apparently the answer is one to tackle, four to miss him prior to that.  This is based on the feeble attempt at tackling Ron Rice in the fourth quarter on a must-stop play to win the game for the Steelers.


So, there you have it ... I have one final comment ... though I've never played in the NFL before, I'm not sure how Dennis Dixon missed that 285 lb. defensive end standing in front of Santonio Holmes when he threw the game-clinching interception last night ... Better luck next week, Stillers!

Overflow

It's not very often in my life that I do something SO DUMB that even I have to stop and shake my head.  Yet, just the other day, I found myself in that very position.

Every year on "Thanksgiving Eve" we (CrossWay Church) have a combined service with New Life Ministries of Saxonburg, PA.  The two churches have, then, opportunities to be water baptized (we believe in baptism by immersion, as evidenced in Scripture by Jesus' own baptism, among others).  This, somewhat obviously, requires our baptismal tank to be filled.

By now, you probably have a decent idea of what's coming.  So I'll cut to the chase and say it - I OVERFLOWED the baptismal tank.  To make matters worse, I LEFT THE BUILDING.  Granted, there were still people there, but I never asked anyone else to check the tank, nor did I remember to check it before I left on an errand.  As I stood in Staples looking for business cards, my phone rang.  "We have a problem" the voice on the other end said.  "You never told me I was supposed to turn the water off, and the baptismal overflowed."  Ugh.  By the time I had returned to the church to 'fix' the problem, the water was long turned off, but the damage had already been done - there was standing water in many places near the tank.

Needless to say, I had a little job ahead of me.  One great lady in the church lives nearby and fetched her wet-vac from home.  While she was doing that, I diligently sucked away water from the carpet using our church's carpet cleaner.  As I was 'cleaning' I began to imagine what the scene must have looked like when the Lead Pastor at the church found the tank overflowing, water pouring out over all four sides and spilling onto the floor.  In the midst of that, I remembered a verse from the Bible where Jesus promises us blessings, "pressed down, shaken together and overflowing."

While I pondered that thought for a moment, and it developed.  Aren't we supposed to live our lives as Christians in OVERFLOW mode?  Really, when you think about it, it's the truth.  We should be so full of Christ and so filled in our personal relationships with Him that there is no other recourse but for that to OVERFLOW into all other areas of our lives.

As a parting thought, I leave you with the words to a recently-written song entitled (of course!), "Overflow".

Open my eyes, so I can see Your glory
Open my ears, to hear Your voice more clearly
Open my heart, Lord and let it beat with Yours
Beat with Yours

Fill me up so I can be poured out
Fill me up so I can be poured out
Fill me up till I overflow with You

And overflow in me Jesus, overflow in me
Pour Your Spirit out Jesus, overflow in me

And pour Your Spirit out, oh Lord

And overflow in me.

Just.Plain.Ordinary.

I am a firm believer that not every example we don't have to look just to those in the Word of God as examples.  We can look to those around us in every day life - as extraordinary as those people might (or might not) seem.  I showed this video last night in CrossFire.  It's a man we've all heard of - Tiger Woods - making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the USOpen in 2008.  

Tiger Woods' Birdie Putt - 2008 USOpen

The story is that he was down by 1 stroke with one chance to tie the leader and force a playoff.  Millions of people watching on TV.  Hundreds of thousands at the golf course watching live.  One putt.  Twelve feet.  To Tiger it was all very ordinary.  You see, he'd made that putt years before he ever stepped to the ball on the 18th green that day.  He made that putt when he was 7, practicing thousands of putts a week; or when he was 21 playing golf in college and refining his skills with diligence.  Why?  Because extraordinary results are gained in ordinary moments.

So what about you?  Are you making ordinary choices every day - ordinary choices to serve and honor God?  If you are, you can be sure that extraordinary results will follow.

More Wonderful

As I sit here today, I'm finding my mind wandering ... and wondering.


I suppose that, as I try my best to live a life that honors the Lord, I engage the enemy in different ways all the time.  One of the main deceptions that I must confront is the temptation to believe that God hasn't revealed Himself to me, based on the (wrong) assumption that, in my life, my God-encounters don't look like someone else's do.  When I find myself feeling this pull and attack from the enemy, it's often difficult to 'snap myself out of it'.  Yet, I find that God is ALWAYS faithful to provide a moment of clarity and TRUTH for me.



I frequently use this on-line radio website when I'm working on sermons, or doing something that creates in me the desire to surround myself with the presence of God.  I've created a "Worship Mix" radio station that plays only worship music.  As I loaded the player not five minutes ago, wondering "What will I share on Refuel today?  Where is this new sermon series going?  God - why do I feel like I'm losing this round with the enemy?" Aaron Shust's song, "More Wonderful" came on.  The first line caught my ear (I'd recognize his voice anywhere - I'm greatly impressed by his heart and music) immediately.  Remember those moments of clarity that God is so faithful to provide?  Yeah ... it was one of those.  Check out the lyrics below.

God of unending grace, I come to You on my face
I need to hear You speak to me, won't You make me new right now
God of omnipotent power, visit us in this hour
And may we leave here changed because we1ve met with You, God

You've been more wonderful to me than I could have ever imagined
You've shown more love than I could show in a thousand years
And although it seems at times like it all means nothing to me
You gotta know that I love You
You gotta know that I need You

God of wisdom and love, settle down from above
Give us all a taste of what Your Holy Spirit can do
Time and time again we've betrayed, but our debt's already been paid
And all that leaves me wanting is to live for you, God

When the world crashes down around me
I know You'll be there to pull me out from the rubble
When my enemy surrounds and I call on your name
You1ll be there to deliver me from my troubled soul

Rescue me from all my selfish ways
and thoughts and deeds and plans
Lead me in the everlasting way
And I will follow you there.

So what about you?  Take a moment to listen to the voice of God reminding you of His faithfulness.

Monday Rant

• Refuel has been given a fresh, new look.  Hopefully, the new look isn't the only inviting element here.  

• Today I begin studying for a new series in CrossFire entitled, 'Ordinary Dayz', during which we will look at the ordinary ways in which we can serve an extraordinary God.  It's my hope that, in the coming days, weeks and months, God transforms the students and CrossFire itself - not because of something that I say, but because an extraordinary God reminds us of who He is.  Extraordinary things happen when ordinary people believe.

• There were probably about 20 students (in either Jr. or Sr. high) that came forward last night at Heaven's Gates/Hell's Flames to receive Christ last night!  Amazingly, many of them don't seem to have a permanent connection to a local church or youth ministry.  That excites me, not simply because CrossFire can embrace them and grow, but because SOMEHOW, THEY GOT HERE.  SOMEONE cared enough to invite them to come.  Now we have the chance to care enough to encourage them to stay, and grow, in their relationship with the Lord.

• I have a Youth Staff meeting coming up this weekend.  My wife is making lasagna and we're hosting the meeting at our house.  I've been speaking to a lot of different people with whom I'm friends, and I'm excited about some of the ideas for approach to this meeting that I've gotten.  The one concept that makes the most sense to me, and was reiterated to me by a couple of different people, was that it should be a time that Staffers walk away from saying, "I couldn't have gotten 'XYZ' any other way.  This couldn't have been accomplished via any other format (e-Mail, text, etc.)"  I was reminded to put the time in that will create a meeting which leaves people excited - not feeling like they waster 2 hours of their lives.

Hang In There!

As I was reading in Nehemiah the other day, a particular passage jumped out at me. It just so happened (I don't believe in coincidence, for what that's worth) that it was on a day that a student was looking for a little encouragement in the very same area this passage speaks to. Go figure. So, without further ado, here's the passage:

Nehemiah 2:19-20: "... they mocked and ridiculed us. 'What is this you're doing?' they asked. 'Are you rebelling against the king?' I answered them by saying, 'The God of heaven will give us success.' ..." (italics mine)

The passage is in the context of Nehemiah's burden and plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But, in the midst of that process, even early on when the physical labor had hardly begun, they faced opposition to what God had called them. Our lives are no different.

Last night in CrossFire, my Lead Pastor preached. His message was 'addicted to normal' and focused on the need for students (everyone, really) to be passionate about winning the lost. Many students from Knoch, Mars, Seneca Valley and Butler school districts came forward to pray for their friends. At the conclusion of the altar time, we united these students in their respective school district groups to pray for each others' friends. God has called them to a specific work - to make a difference for His sake in their schools. Many of them were broken-hearted (some for the first time) over the eternity of their friends or family.

Now that they have begun this work to which God has called them, they will face opposition. It's really a guarantee. So, the question arises, "What do we do in the face of opposition?" Nehemiah provides us the answer. We hang in there. Why? Because the God of heaven will give us success! He does not want this work to which he has called the students to fail! He will provide the way ... even in the midst of incessant and constant opposition that these students will face (and many already have) in their schools. Be encouraged ... God will give us success.

It is His work to which we are called, and He will give us success in doing His work. So hang in there!