Overcome

Sometimes life can feel as if you have a series of 20-foot walls that you have to find your way over. All of us faces moments of truth when we confront obstacles that could slow us down, trip us up and seek to knock us out of the race. In these times we must be overcomers - to find God's strength in life's challenges.

Jesus may have said that we would have trouble in this world, but ath was not the end of the story. Jesus finished by saying, "Take heart, I have overcome the world." - John 16:33.

Join us at LifeSong this coming weekend as we kick-off a new series of messages entitled, "Overcome."

Courage in Everyday Life

There was a test conducted by a university where 10 students were placed in a room. 3 lines of varying length were drawn on a card. The students were told to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the longest line. But 9 of the students had been instructed beforehand to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the second longest line. 1 student was the stooge. The usual reaction of the stooge was to put his hand up, look around, and realizing he was all alone, pull it back down. This happened 75% of the time, with students from grade school through high school. The researchers concluded that many would rather be part of the crowd than be right.

I don't think the findings of this study are in any way unique to childhood or youth. It takes a great deal of courage to stand for what you know to be right when it seems that the rest of the world is going in a different direction.

The next time it seems everyone else is pointing in a different direction than the life that God has called you to live as a fully devoted follower of Christ remember these words from scripture, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." - 2 Timothy 1:7

A Lesson in Patience

This past week, Joni and I took our girls to Washington D.C. for a quick get away. It was a wonderful to experience the many historical landmarks and museums found in our nation's capitol. Amongst the many things we did was make a visit to the National Archives where they keep original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Constitution on display. Because it was the height of tourist season in D.C. of course the waits were long to make in into the rotunda where these famous documents and others are on display. Only 100 people at a time are released to go into the rotunda. The police officer at the rotunda made it extremely clear to everyone before entering that you shouldn't form a single file line in front of any of the documents. So when our group was released to go into the room I walked directly up to the Declaration of Independence when all of the sudden a woman started yelling at me that I was cutting in line. I tried to explain that I was only doing what the officer had instructed us to do, but she didn't care. I feared that the headlines of the Orlando Sentinel were going to read, "Pastor Kicked Out of National Archives." My initial response was to engage and yell back at the woman, but I knew this wasn't going to be helpful to the situation. After she shoved her way in front of me while pushing her purse into my stomach, I thought I've got to disengage from this. The whole experience became a giant lesson in patience - patience in waiting to get in, patience with some loud woman I've never seen before and patience with my own feelings. I write all of this to make a larger point. The patience I had to exhibit that day is nothing compared to the patience that God has shown to you and me in life. He is patient with us when we make him wait. He is patient with us when we don't act right. He is patient with us even when we struggle with our emotions. I'm so glad that we serve a patient God. Knowing the patience He has shown to us, how can we not be patient with one another?

Insurance Against Regret

We buy inusrance for all kinds of things - homes, cars, health. You name it and you can probably buy insurance for it. Why not buy some insurance against future regret? No you can't purchase it with cash or a debit card. Insurance against regret comes from making good decisions on the front end of life. Here are some decisions we can easily make that will keep regret at bay:

1. Decide to say "I'm sorry" when you are wrong.
2. Decide to tell the truth when tempted no to.
3. Decide to give as best you can.

Which of these decisions would have the greatest impact on your life if you were to decide in advance to live by these principles?

Beyond Guilt

This past week was all about the difference between godly sorrow and guilt, with the belief that having a since of godly sorrow about our regrets allows to continue to move forward in life while guilt keeps us stuck in the past and focused upon ourselves. Listed below are some steps that will assit us in walking the path of godly, constructive sorrow.

1. Be honest.
2. Focus on the person who has been wronged.
3. Confess your misdeed.
4. Ask for forgiveness.
5. Make it right.
6. Accept forgiveness.
7. Look to the future.
8. Ask yourself why you want to change your behavior or attitude.
9. Rely on God's strength to help you overcome.
10. Respect who you are as a person.

For those of us who are willing to do the tough work required of godly sorrow there is a hope and a future.

Moving Beyond the Past

If you are like me at least once you've walked out the door of your house and come to the realization that you have your hands full of all sorts of things to bring with you, but you've forgotten to pick up the keys to your car. It doesn't matter how much you've brought along with you, none of us get anywhere fast without having the proper set of keys.

Moving beyond our regrets functions much the same way. Many of us attempt to grapple with our regrets, we even have our hands full of them, but without the right keys we will never be able to embrace the future we so desire to have.

Here are a couple of keys to moving beyond regret:
1. Healing Your Past Hurts.
2. Making Restitution.

Healing is most often a process. It takes time and intention. Most importantly it takes the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For some of us one of the tools the Holy Spirit might want to use is the assistance of a counselor. If you need this kind of assistance let me know I'd be happy to refer you to someone equipped to help you in the process of healing your past hurts.

Restitution is the process of going back and making things right. If we have wronged someone it is important for us to acknowledge it and ask for forgiveness. I realize that sometimes this is easier said than done, but it doesn't mean that it isn't worth doing. Once again, the Holy Spirit can help give you the power for this task.

Questions to Reflect Upon:
1. Where have you seen regret and guilt keep you from being fully present in life?
2. Where do you hurt? How do you handle this hurt?
3. What specific situations and relationships can you restore?
4. What are some concrete steps you can take toward healing your hurts and making restitution?

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

I find that past regrets is a subject I end up discussing with people quite often. For many of us it is difficult to learn from our past and move forward as we press on in faith. More often we replay the tapes of past circumstances over and over again in the back of our minds as we search for a way to reconcile the past with our present.

Will Rogers was once quoted as saying, "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." Something about Rogers' statement rings true for those who struggle with regret. Left unattended our regrets wind up eating the energy we need to live life today.

What events from "yesterday" do you find using up your "today"? What would it mean for you to allow God to be the Lord of your past as well as your present and future?