To my sons, Davey and Jono...

Dear Davey and Jono,

I was looking over some of my notes from readings and research for the sermon series I’m in right now. I compiled a couple of tidbits that added a bit of inspiration to me today. Hoped they might be meaningful to you guys too!!!

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When you’re younger, you want to be sure that by the time you’re eighty years old you can sit on the bench and look back and say, “Man, I did it all. I didn’t miss a thing!”
-Dr. Bill Cosby

External conditions are the accidents of life, its outer trappings. The great enduring realities are love of service. Joy is the holy fire that keeps our purpose warm and our intelligence aglow! Resolve to keep JOY -- and that joy and you will form an invincible army against difficulty!
-Helen Keller (who never saw a candle glow or heard the crackle of a warm fire)

Passionate people live wide open, holding nothing back, because their purpose in life is defined in terms of passionately doing what they love — for WHO they love — God.
-Dr. David Jeremiah

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It’s intriguing to me to study and observe the lives of men and women throughout history, and those living today, who have left or are leaving great spiritual legacies. It seems that those who have the most profound impact on their world for the cause of Christ, followed their God-given passion — regardless of what it was or is — with great enthusiasm! When they twist the throttle (sorry, biker talk) there is no stopping the flow of energy, enthusiasm and hard work. They pour themselves out on the world as an offering of worship to God. They “get it!” They aren’t hung up on being the brightest, the handsomest, the fastest or the strongest! It’s not about success, fame or being the biggest/best at anything. Nor is it about just doing what you have to do to make money and live comfortably (People in that mess will tell you “that just stinks!”). That’s not what keeps them motivated. They are just passionate about pleasing and honoring God...period!

Is it conceivable that it is impossible to reach our God-given potential if we are not passionate about what we are doing? Is it also conceivable that God views the greatest tragedy of life as being the gap between what you and I are and what we could be if we’d just discover and throttle up the passions HE has placed in our hearts?

That gap cannot be spanned with self-actualizing things, pursuits or relationships. That gap is only closed when our enthusiasm, energy, sacrifice, relationships, love, and joy are all focused on pleasing and honoring HIM. Then somehow our joy is made complete. Hmmm, go figure! Isn’t God great?!?! I mean, it's like He knows what we were created to be or something!!

John 14:9-11 "As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love. 10 If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. 11 I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

I sure do love you guys!

dad

Letting Go

What is it about self-centered, sinful and carnal attitudes and actions that so entice me as a human being? Every experience of worship we have in church reminds us the only way to please a holy God is total capitulation of self and full embrace of His plan for our lives. But why is that so difficult? Now if His plan looks good and is in complete accordance with the way I envisioned things going, that’s cool – AWESOME! But as soon as His plan and will no longer run in congruence with mine, I have a choice to make. In Hebrews 10:19, Paul referred to that choice as “ENTERING IN.” He describes it as a positive and bold choice to enter in to the holiest place with Christ daily. We are empowered, Paul says, to make the right choices.

One of the most thorough and understandable allegories illustrating this daily battle against the temptation to glorify self comes from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings saga. With Tolkien and C.S. Lewis being friends and contemporaries, they inspired each other in writing these allegorical fantasies with higher spiritual and theological meaning. Among Lewis's writings were the Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings and others.
Without going into detail and retelling a story that most are certainly familiar with by now, just be reminded of our 4 ½ foot tall hobbit hero, Frodo Baggins who is given the daunting task of weathering the storms and the wilds of the underworld to save the world – Middle Earth as Tolkien named it. It has fallen to his fate to return the ring of awesome power and corrupt temptation to it’s place of origin where there and only there can it be destroyed. The very existence and presence of this ring draws evil and strengthens doubts and paranoia. Others have been in possession of this ring in the past only to self-destruct due to the seduction of absolute power from the ring.
Interestingly, after battling and surviving everything from fatigue, to battle injuries, near drowning, deadly animal attacks and even devastating loss of friendship – the most daunting task, by far, was coming to the very point of giving up the ring for the sake of saving Middle Earth – and he hesitates in the face of his greatest test and temptation. Can he let go of the ring? Can he let go of the notoriety and the feeling of power and importance – being chosen? Can he let go of SELF?
WHO IS THE LORD OF THE RING?