God's Man

Time for a reality check for your humble author. God walked me back over my life. He showed me His hand all over my life. God reminded me in not so gentle terms that He has always had my best interests in mind. I was the one who ignored or slapped away His hand. I was the one who decided to move away from Him. But even though I scorned Him, He still wants me. Walk with Me is what He has told me. Walk with Me and see where I am taking you. God's Main

I've been wondering if I am really being authentic. I am currently experiencing moments of great triumph. I am also experiencing times of personal failure. I wonder if I am walking the right path. I feel the full weight of my responsibility to my wife and children. Am I doing right by them? I don't know anymore. I really haven't written much about what is going on in my world recently. I started this blog to capture my personal thoughts and to discuss God's place in my life. I feel stuck right now. I am having a Job moment right now. I want God to come down and tell me what is going on. I want Him to explain why my life is going the way it is. I just want to understand why I can't overcome certain aspects of my life. I want to know why things are not coming together for me as I planned. It is weird. I have spent so much of my life telling people to not complain, to focus on where you are going, to put God first; however I don't see things falling...

am a nerd, and proud of it. Spider-man was a great character, one of my favorites, and I have been happy with Hollywood depiction of the story. Do not read ahead if you haven’t been to see this movie and are planning to. In the movie Spider-man is struggling. He is struggling to understand his role as a leader, trying to be a hero, and later trying to overcome his own dark side. During the story Spider-man gets infected by an alien life form named Venom which released the dark side of his nature. It made him extremely angry and narcissistic. His anger led him to destroy the reputation he had built up. As leaders we have to be careful how we act. There are so many eyes on us and there is always someone out there trying to tear us down. We also have to be careful with whom we share our burdens and this is what I pulled from Spider-man 3. The scene that exemplifies this message comes when Spiderman is trying to rid himself of his demons. He goes, surprisingly enough, ...

Today I am taking part in a Maximum Impact Seminar.  The title of this is called the Influence Index: Increasing a Leaders True Value.  It is being simulcast from my church . More To Come Later... Powered by Qumana

As part of the Top 5 Writing Project over at Problogger.net I am jumping in with my list. So here it is. Over the next few days I will be adding deeper explanations. For now here is the list and bible verses to whet your appetite. See you later. Spiderman 3 - A Leader's Burden 1 John 2:9-11 (New International Version) 300 - Discipline, Standing by your Beliefs 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (The Message) Babel - No one is Isolated, Let God Plan Genesis 11:1-9 (New International Version) Deuteronomy 31:6 (New International Version) Jeremiah 29:10-12 (New International Version) The Last Mimzy - Child Like Wonder Mark 10:14-16 (New International Version) Shawshank Redemption - Hope, Attitude 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 (New International Version) God's Man Update: A Leader's Burden in Spider-Man 3 added

I find God in the most unusual places. I am a self-described movie hole. I love movies. I love going to the movies. I devour movies. This is probably because I am a story teller. I've always been interested in how people tell stories. For me movies have evolved for me. I no longer "take a vacation" and just watch a movie. I stay engaged and allow God to teach me. You have to be careful because Hollywood sometimes has an agenda that they pour into you while you are check out. I learned this the hard way when I took my daughter to see the movie," Happy Feet " . I loved the first part of this movie. The music was awesome, the dance sequences were also amazing. As a 3D animator I was impressed with the technical skill it took to create this movie. What caught me off guard about the movie was the flaming environmental message in the movie. The movie would have been so great without the second half of the film. Anyway I am going to spend the next few p...

I'm going to peel back the veil and let all of you in on a secret today. I... am a raging... uncontrollable... unrelenting... . . . . NERD. I love technology. I love computers. I love video games. I love books and reading. I am an equal opportunity nerd. I am technology agnostic. I love my Mac and my PC. Even though I lean towards my Mac. I love programming and I love graphic design. There used to be a web comic that I enjoyed called Life of Riley. In it there was a character named Dan who achieved superhuman powers by becoming a living paradox. He was able to create art and work with technology. The jokes assumption was being artistic and nerdy were mutually exclusive. I've wondered about that for a long time. I've always loved music, singing, art just as much as I love technology. I have always loved to create, whether it is applications or poetry. When God created us He knew exactly what he was doing. He created each and everyone of us in His image and that means that H...

This weekend I will be speaking at St. Mark's United Methodist Church for their Men's Day Celebration. I am excited about this because this is the church that I grew up in. My family has been worshiping here for generations. Even though I am not a member there I feel honored to stand there where some of my ancestors have stood. No matter what, I want God to get all the glory. Here are some snippets from what God is preparing for me. Check back for updates. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Men’s Weekend 2007 Theme: Men putting on the Armor of God Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” Power Tip: How you do anything is how you do everything! Last weekend was my 5 year anniversary and you know where I spent some of it? The mall. So there we were in a department store looking at dresses and suit set...

Fear is such an empty emotion. It tells us that we can't do something, that it is too hard... But it is a lie. Today I saw fear in a very real way, in Isana's eyes. She wanted to try the monkey bars on the swing set. She was expecting our normal answer of no. I told her that I would have to remove the swings first. She watched me take each one off chain by chain. Finally it was clear and the ladder that we have watched her go up and down on seemed so tall. She decided she didn't want to do it anymore... Aren't we like that some times. We say, God open this door. But when the door is finally open we slink away because now we have to stretch. Like I said it could have ended there. But I wouldn't let Fear stop her growth. I told her to climb up those steps. Then she didn't want to reach for the overhead bars. It was too far she said. I told her she could do it but the fear wouldn't retreat. Even though she had grabbed the bars and was hanging on she...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are You In Season? Psalm 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Power Tip: Every Season of life is precious. Don't rush any of it! Conclusion The word of God is rich. So rich in fact that you can look over the same passage many different times and have new revelations. The only way for our tree to truly thrive we have to be rooted in Christ. We have our parts to play too but one thing we've got to have is our relationship with Christ. He gives us a warning that there will be many, that, at the end that He will not know. There will even be those that used the laws that God created to amass great things. He has even said that there will be those that did great things in His name. However without the relationship all of it is worthless. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter t...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are You In Season? Psalm 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Power Tip: Every Season of life is precious. Don't rush any of it! The Seasons of Life We often view life as having 4 seasons. Spring Spring time is your youth. It is the time of flowers and optimism. Where our ideas and our ideals are shaped. Summer Summertime is your early adulthood. Its the time of heat, passion, vitality and stamina. This is where we decide we decide our world view. Fall Fall is the middle age. This is the time of harvest. Time to slow down and maintain what you have created. Winter Winter is Old Age. This is the time of scarcity. Time slows to a crawl. It is the time of reflection. While these can be an accurate general picture we can see this same cycle repeating itself throughout life. There will be many springtimes, su...

I'll be back at Elkridge Baptist Church this weekend. Professor Bridges is under the weather and I've been asked to speak. Keep Professor Bridges in your prayers. Here are some ideas from the sermon I am preparing for Sunday. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are You In Season? Psalm 1:3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Power Tip: Every Season of life is precious. Don't rush any of it! Be a Tree! What does it mean to be planted? The bible uses the greek word ridzo to describe how we are planted by God. Ridzo paints a picture of something firmly and deeply rooted. So rooted that it has become and object fixed in place, steady, stable and strong. Trees grow as deep as they are tall. The bigger the tree the deeper the roots. Trees thrive in different environments. God plants us where He will and who better knows where our roots w...

Last night I had a very weird dream. A friend of mine once described dreams as defragmentation of the mind. He said that dreams occur as your mind tries to find the pattern in the seemingly random experiences, thoughts, and actions of your day. I'm going to write down in my notebook what happens in my dreams and ask God to make sense of it. After last night I know that I cannot do it myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ People in the Dream: Me, Virginia Carter, my cousin "Cakes" Locations in the Dream: Virginia Carter's House, Villa Julie College (AC Building) Segment 1: I learn that Virginia Carter, SNSD in Primerica Financial Services, has gotten married to my cousin Cakes. He is very abusive. He cusses at her and treats really badly. I go and sit down with her at their house. It is huge and very well decorated. She and I sit in a sun room in back of the house. She and I have a light conversation. She tells me...

I ate lunch at Joey Chiu's Resturant today. I thought the food was excellent and the restaurant was very nice inside. At the end of the meal there was, of course, a fortune cookie. Normally I don't focus in on the actual fortune but today's cookie got me thinking. "Suppose you can get what you want..." This weekend at church we had a visit from Bishop Salamat Khokhar. He is an evangelist from the country of Pakistan. He spoke with us about being in a country where the Christians are in the minority. It was amazing how he walks with such boldness. That is the boldness that I have prayed for. I asked him what was the difference between Christians in the US and overseas. His response was, "The American Christian is lazy." I thought about that alot. I mean I wouldn't call myself lazy but as I thought about it I realized that yes I am. I mean I don't proclaim the Gospel like I should. I don't go out of my way to tell someone about God....

I have spent quite a bit of time trying to get back on track. I glad to say that my attitude has remained positive during this time. I used to spend a lot of time beating myself up over my failures. Now however God has shown me how to change without regretting lost time. I spoke at Living Hope Church about a month ago. The title of my message was Building a Won't Quit Attitude. The foundation for this message was 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left...

I am always surprised when God uses me to talk with His people. 2 weeks ago I spoke to Elkridge Baptist Church. I had prepared a message entitled, "God Loves Skeptics". I had written out word for word what I would say. That is something that I usually don't do. I wanted to appear prepared so in I went with my 5, count them five, pages of sermon. I stood up before the people and began... ...When all was said and done God had spoken a powerful word to His people. I however had said nothing that was on my paper. It was amazing. All of the material was covered. The scripture references were the same. I just didn't use any of my own words. Isn't that awesome. God said exactly what the people needed to hear. After the service the Head Deacon thanked me for letting God work through me. I said that I am glad that God's way always prevails. One of the members also spoke to me and said that I specifically addressed her issues. I told her that God is alwa...

Skeptics have always been around. God is not afraid of our questions, He welcomes them. If we look back in the Old Testament we can see God taking the time to talk questioning children. In the Book of Habakkuk we find a prophet in a rather heated exchange with God. He cries out, "How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds." Questions facilitate conversation and without honest communication any relationship would die. As a skeptic I am always asking questions about something. While this can often lead to better understanding it can also lead to analysis paralysis. That's when we think something to death. God is not angered by our questions but he does not want us to get stagnate because of over-thinking. Many times this is caused by fear.

I'm going to flesh out my sermon for this weekend. I am so excited to be standing in for Professor Bridges. God Loves Skeptics part 1 Scripture: John 20:24-29 We are all children of God and he loves us in ways that we can never truly understand. He accepts us when we stray. He listens when we call for Him. He delights in each of us. He is a devoted Father. And like a father He has to be confident enough to handle questions from His children. That's why I know that God loves the skeptic. Take a look at Thomas here, he gets a special mention in the bible as well as a unique visit from Jesus. 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house ag...

My former professor asked me to preach at his church this Sunday. This is a huge honor for me because Professor Bridges' class was one of my favorite. He taught my world religions class at Villa Julie College. During that time, my walk with God, was very sporadic. I was searching for truth in so many different places. Eastern Religions was my particular flavor then and that was where I focused my attention. There was one thing that still holds my attention though. In the first class Professor Bridges asked the class, "Who wants an A in this class?" Of course this grabbed everyone's attention. He took out a small rectangular box that appeared to be wrapped in scotch tape. He showed it to the class and passed it around so everyone could examine it. He then said that anyone who could guess what was in the box would receive an A. This caught everyone by surprise and then people wanted to really look at the box. He passed it around the room again and as it got...

What does a life lived for God look like?  Is it a filled with adventure?  Is it stocked with exploits of mountain moving faith?  Is it filled with little tasks that often goes unnoticed?  The bible shows us that a life should be lived two ways. The first way is in service to others.  God clearly showed time after time that a service-oriented life is preferred.  Jesus himself showed the perfect example when he washed the feet of His disciples.  Jesus' ministry was all about service.  One of His earliest miracles, where he turned water into wine, was a total act of service.  His sacrifice on the cross, feeding the five thousand, healing the sick, raising the dead, everything he did was in service to the people he had chosen to dwell among.  Now before you pull out the  "He's God" card, there are plenty of other examples of service-oriented men and women in the bible.  Noah, David, Paul, John, Daniel, Ester, and Ruth among others served their God and the people.  The ot...