Sick!

Hello my faithful friends in blogville! I shall be back soon. I've been so sick I even miss church altogether this weekend.

Hope you all had a memorable Thanksgiving!

Which way are you going from here?

'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where --' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.'--so long as I get somewhere, ' Alice added as an explanation. Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I don't want to just get somewhere. So to me, it makes a difference which way I take so I can end where I want to go. You must be clear where you want to go so you don't get confused on your way there. I am reminded of Moses leading the Israelites into the Promise Land. He was clear that was his final destination. He consulted God for the strategies on how to get there. The route God gave him didn't look right, but he followed it.

You must be pretty certain God has mapped out your route so you can follow it even when it looks like you are going away from it. You must hang out with him to know for sure this is the right way.

Only then, you could be facing your worse enemy and destruction, feeling trapped and helpless, yet see your Deliverer open the red sea and make a dry path for you to get to YOUR Promise Land. My pastor talked about this the other day and it stayed with me. Only God can bring you to the other side. Why not trust Him with our destiny?

Dear God, I know where I am going, would You help me get there? And, please help my friends know where they are going and to trust you to take them there. Amen

The American President

This has been one of my "mostest" favorite movies. I can watch it any time. I own it but, if it comes on TV, I am always tempted to watch it with commercials and all. It is somewhat a modern Cinderella. I get at the edge of the bed (I like watching movies in bed) every time there is a romantic scene or a leadership debate. Besides their reconciliation scene after the State of the Union speech, my favorite scene is the argument between Lewis Rothschild and the President. I thought I'd share that with you:

Lewis Rothschild: People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

President Andrew Shepherd: People don't drink the sand because they're thirsty. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference.

At my church, we take leadership very seriously. Not to brag but, we have a very solid group of smart leaders. This scene from the movie reminds me how desperate people are for answers to their life pains, frustrations and failures. They are willing to go anywhere in search for those answers, and be it that they may drink the sand either because they can't see anything else or because they might not know any different; it is our job as leaders to step in. We have to step to the mic and share the good news we know.

I know the difference between a mirage and water, JESUS is. I know what I need to quench my thirst for life ambitions, dreams, struggles, shortcomings... the Living Water, Jesus.

And whoever drinks of this water, will never thirst again!

A story about building walls, defeating giants, a Book and a Spirit

A long time ago, a guy was asked to build a wall around his city to protect it from the enemy. There was a little problem, he didn't have enough time, man power or the resources to do it. What amazes me is that in spite of the difficulties, he managed to get the job done.

Many times we see the difficulties. We focus on the problem, on the impossibilities. This particular situation reminds me that God is not asking for miracles from us. He is asking that we believe He can. He is not asking for super powers, he just asks for passion and obedience. The beauty of it all, we do see miracles and super powers in action!

This particular guy came up with an idea: If EVERYONE built a wall in front of their own places with their own resources and families, the job could get done in record time and completely. They did.

This is what I see about this man:

• He was able to hear what God wanted for him/of him
• He was able to believe he could do something about it
• He had the passion to pursuade others to believe it also
• He had the energy to make others act on it

As I reflect on my own life and what God wants of me, I wonder if I could build this wall for real. Do I see the wall as a powerful undefeatable giant or do I see it as an opportunity to glorify God? Do I really trust God to provide the resources to defeat my giant? A Book and a Spirit don't sound like much some times. But when I try it, it is always more than sufficient!

__________ (fill in the blank with me, whatever the name of your wall/giant; and say) I come to you not in my own power, but in the Power of God Almighty! You are defeated in His name!