The Highlander

 O sleep, where art thou?  It is 5:30 am and I have been awake since 2:45, and finally gave up the battle of trying to return to the bliss of rest at 3:50 when I finally got up.  Between two daughters who got home at the ungodly hour of 3 am (after watching a midnight showing of Transformers, go figure), and being afraid that every time I turned over I would hear the squeal of Max being transformed from poodle to pancake, I felt “led” to get up.

As I sit here in the pre-dawn moments of a new day, I am thinking about life.  I am enjoying Cathleen Falsani’s book Sin Boldy- A Field Guide for Grace.  I have never read anything by her before, but this book is refreshing.  It is a simple collection of stories from her life that illustrate God’s grace in different ways.

As I was reading a chapter about her experiences in a very poor area in Kenya, she made a remark about the women there that slapped me in the face.  As she talked about the women’s energy and ingenuity in their work, even in the most difficult of living situations, she said this, “They had no time for despair.  They are far too busy living.”  SMACK!

“Far too busy LIVING.”  Now that grabbed my attention.  I thought about the reality in my own life that whenever I found myself depressed, doubting, and despairing, I have stopped living.  In those times I have chosen to throw the car of life into “park”, and refuse to journey on and enjoy the ride.  I cannot enjoy the sights, sounds and people around me, because I am too busy navel gazing while sitting in the drivers seat.

The fact is, I have cut myself off from the source of real life and that is Jesus.  After all, He Himself said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE.  Despair says that God has turned His back on me, and that there is just no reason to go on.  Despair says that there is no purpose in life, no rhyme or reason to any of it.  It tells me that I am sinking in a pit too deep for me (or God for that matter), to get me out of, so why go on.  Just sit and sulk, and cry, “Woe is me.”  Ever been there?

I remember Jesus telling a guy one time what the definition of real living was.  As always, He made it real simple.  So simple that even “I” can get it!  He basically said that if you love God with your whole being, and other people as yourself, you would live (Luke 10:27-28).  Real life is found in loving God and loving others.  We love in order to live and we live in order to love.

Because He lives in us, His love has filled our hearts (Romans 5:5), and that love has to go somewhere!  It has to be expressed both upward (towards Father), and outward (towards others).  Whenever we are doing this, even in the simplest of ways, we are living.  When we are not, we cease living in the truest since of the word, and start trying to find life in things that can only bring death.  Then you know what happens?  Yep, despair shows up at the door with a great big smile on his face.  He is ready to move in and set up house keeping.

The women Cathleen spoke of were far too busy loving God and others in what they were doing, that they had no time or place for despair.

I want to live!  I want to sieze the day and live it to the hilt.  Yet, I realize that when I look back at my life, far too many of my days have been spent just “existing” and “getting” by, and not really living.  Despair and I have spent more time together than I care to remember.  So, today Papa, as I sit here listening to the birds waking up and singing a song of welcome to the rising sun, I want to live.  Let Your life in me, a life that is love itself, find expression upward and outward today.  In word, thought and deed, let Your love flow out of me, so that when I do put my head down on a pillow later on (and I am looking forward to that!), I will know that by Your grace, I lived!

I hope that today you will have no time for despair, because you too, are far too busy living!

The Highlander

 I was recently scanning some blogs about different “Pastors Conferences” that were going on around the country, and as I was reading, I just had this sick feeling come over me.  I started looking at the “headliners” who were speaking at these places, and of course, they were the guys who have supposedly “made it”.  They have big churches, lots of nickles and noses, and have seemingly found the key to growing a big church.  They’ve written books, got You Tube status, and are “reaching the world for Christ”.  Now, they can go and stand in front of a group of salivating folks who want to know how they too can do the same thing, and get paid very nicely to tell them “how”.  In most peoples eyes, they have “arrived”.

It’s sickingly funny how this has not changed through the years in any denomination or movement.  It seems that the only way you have a right to share or speak at these major events, is if you have proven that you are a success, however that group or movement deems that.  Here in the United States, that success is determined by the capitalist principles of buildings, budgets, bodies, and popularity.  If you have done well with these, you can write a book and headline all the major “Christian” gatherings across the land.

There may be exceptions to this, but they are rare…very rare.  What about the little guy who sits unnoticed in the back of the room who is doing good to gather 25 people together on a weekly basis, BUT, who knows God in ways and depths far beyond the “keynote speaker”?  What about the man who struggles weekly just to get by, but whose character and conduct reflect Jesus in ways that leave an impression on people for a lifetime?  Don’t you think these guys might have something of far more value to share with us concerning a RELATIONSHIP with the living God, and not about how to have a “successful ministry”?

We are a nation that flocks to the “successful” ones in any field.  We are attracted to the glitz, glamour, and gold of those who have arrived in our eyes.  Sadly, it is no different among the Christian community, and especially among the “professionals” in that community.

Funny how Paul had no spiritual “heroes”.  He cared less about what others were in the eyes of men.  It was no big deal with him that he got to hang out with Peter and James for a while.  Heck, what were they to him, but brothers in the family?  He was not smitten by their very presence, what they had done, or even the fact that they were part of the “original” group of disciples who physically walked with Jesus!  Don’t believe me?  Just read Galatians 2:1-14.

This same Paul also talked about the more insignificant parts of the Body deserving greater honor than the ones everybody else could see.  But, where do WE focus and glory in, and flock to hear?  The one’s everybody can see!  We seem to be mere hearers of the Word and not doers of it.

We have whole cult followings now in every circle, movement, and denomination, along with devoted followers to their particular “heroes” who will defend them and their message/theology to the death.  It is idolatry plain and simple.  Has “I am of Paul, I am of Cephas, I am of…”, now become the “in” thing?

If I remember correctly, Jesus did say something about the fact that HE would build His church, and I don’t remember Him saying that He needed our help in doing it.  What He has invited us into though is a RELATIONSHIP with Him and each other, where we learn to love Him and others as we journey through this life.  He Himself said that others would know that we were His by the way we loved each other and Him.  He did not say it would be by how “successful” our ministries were, or how “big” our churches grew.  No, it all goes back to LOVE.

I guess I am at a point in my life where all that stuff just does not matter any more. I really could care less whether any man or group deems me a success.  It used to be important to me (sadly and sickingly so), but not any more.  I have a library full of thousands of books that when I look at them, I feel sort of like somebody who is full of steak walking into a steakhouse to have to eat again!  There is just no appeal.  I rarely go into a “Christian” bookstore any more, because of that same feeling, and because the shelves are lined with “how to’s” and “steps to” success in whatever area you want.

I have not been to a Conference in years, and have no plans to be at any in the near future.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am sure that there are many folks there who truly love God and want to serve Him, and believe that they really are.  It is just the “system” itself that makes me sick.  The Kingdom and its values just is vastly different than those of the world.

I am interested in a relationship with a God Who is better than my best thought of Him, and Whose grace is richer and bigger than I can imagine!  I want to walk with a Father Who loves me more than I’ll ever know, and Who deems success in terms of Him shaping me more and more into the likeness of His Son each and every day.  He promised to finish the work HE started, so I think I will just sit back, learn to love Him and others, and enjoy the ride.

The Highlander

  Well, I passed another birthday this weekend.  Funny, I feel the same as I did a week ago, but the calendar says I am one year older.  Of course, calendars don’t dictate how you feel on a certain day, they just inform you of what day it is.  How you feel, live, and experience life on that day, has a lot to do with you.  You can “live!”, or you can just “exist”.

The older I get, the more I want to live, really live, each day.  I want to enjoy every moment that Papa gives me.  I am realizing that every second is a gift and while each gift is given, I want to receive it and milk it for all it is worth.  Sure, I want to accomplish things that make a difference in somebody’s world while I am here, but I am also learning how relish the little things that nobody else sees.  Sometimes, God shows Himself to me in those “hidden moments” more than in the wide open ones.

One thing that He has driven home for me in the last few years, is that the only thing that REALLY matters, is love.  Nothing more, nothing less.  My life will be judged by how well I loved.  Because how well I lived, will be determined by how well I loved.  Everything the Bible speaks of is summed up (as Jesus said), by how well I loved Father, and how well I loved others.  So, every opportunity I get each day to express love for Him and to others, I need to seize it.  I want my life to be invested, not spent.  The only way that will happen is by living a life of love.

In five minutes, I get a chance to love in word and deed.  My wife will come out here, and I will hug her, and tell her how special she is and how very much I love her.  In an hour, I will be out among people and will be looking for the opportunities that Papa will give me to show love to someone else.  It may be in a kind or encouraging word.  It could be in an act of service that is needed, or just to sit still and listen to someones  heart.  Father has more “love adventures” planned for me each day than I can shake a stick at.  I just need to be looking for them as I am going along.

So, my prayer this day is not, “Father use me to do great things”, or “make me a great man”.  Neither is it, “Bless me, bless me, bless me”.  Nope.  It is, “Father fill me with Your life and let me walk in love towards You and all that You bring my way.”  I am sure that He will answer that prayer, and I am also sure that I will have lived life to its fullest if I do those things.  Heck, love sort of makes life worth livin’!

The Highlander

The darkness rolls in like a cloud
 
It encompasses my soul
 
Yet, I am not drawn into it
 
But invited in order to be made whole
 
The silence and the sense of being alone is deeply known
 
Even though this painful place is part of leading me home
 
Desperation, fear, anguish and confusion
 
assault the core of my heart
 
But in every turn and in every step
 
God plays a vital part
 
The knowledge of walking “through” the valley
 
Is a comfort to rest in
 
But the experience of the journey
 
Leads to great brokenness deep within
 
And when I reach the depths where I cry out
 
“Where am I?  What is going on?”
 
I find that I take just a few steps further
 
And I see the glorious light of a brand new dawn.
 
 The Highlander 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today, I had the honor of leading in the funeral of a precious saint of God.  She had lived a full life, and at the age of 87, was ready to go!  As I was sharing about all that God has prepared for us in the next realm, I could not but get excited at the prospect of making the transition myself!

I read the words of Paul about how he longed to go and be with Jesus, but was hanging around here for the sake of the church.  Here was a man who was so consumed with a passion to know Christ, and stated that his whole existence was wrapped up in Jesus.  All that he had come to know of Christ at that point in his life, only served to make him hungry to know more.  He ate, breathed, and slept Jesus.  He also knew that in his limited, mortal body, he could only know just so much of Christ.  He wanted more!  He wanted the fulness of the experience of Christ that death opened the door to.  I know how he felt.

 Heaven is not a strange, ethereal, gray place inhabited by wispy spirits floating around on puffy, white clouds, playing weird harps all day long.  No, it is a place of breathtaking beauty.  A realm of mountains, streams, rivers, and valleys, covered in pristine beauty where everything, even the very air itself is alive.  Every blade of grass, every blooming flower, every leaf on a tree, pulsates with the life of God Himself.

 The dwellings there would make the finest designer and architect on earth drool.  I have put in my order for a simple place somewhere on a tropical beach, surrounded by high mountains.  The water out front will be crystal clear, and the sunsets will blow you away!

 But hey, what makes heaven, heaven, is not all that wonderful stuff.  What makes heaven the place of beauty, wonder, adventure and glory is Jesus!  It is the full manifestation of God Himself in all of His magnificent beauty! The one thing that I cannot wait to do is see Him face to face!  I cannot wait to look into those eyes of liquid love, and to bow down before Him and say, “Thank You!”, a million times over!  Oh, and to be held in His arms and drink in the essence of grace, love and mercy that flows from His heart to mine will be awesome. 

 I am looking forward to entering into that realm of absolute freedom and perfection, and experiencing the full inheritance that Papa has for us all.  Trust me, that which I have already tasted here, is making me long for all that awaits me there.

 Without a doubt, this life truly is just the preface to the book of our existence. Chapter One has yet to be written; but I can tell you this, I can’t wait until He picks up the pen and begins to put it to paper!  As John said, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!”

The Highlander 

Hello to you all!

It has been a LOOONNNGG time since you have heard from me!  I’ll bet you are surprised.  No, we did not drop off the face of the earth, nor did Jesus return (but I guess you know that).  

I wanted to let you all know about the status of the water project in Santa Elena.  Remember we started this project over 2 years ago, and I am glad to report that it is done!  The folks there now have clean drinking water flowing to their homes!  We were able to take funds down there to them in March and went back again in April to check up on it.  It was so satisfying to see clean water flowing to their houses.  I cannot say, “thank you”, enough to those of you who prayed and gave towards this.  The remaining financial need was met by the fellowship here at Mount Pisgah, and the folks there were overflowing with gratitude!

I cannot tell you how much we miss being down there.  We have enjoyed each return trip and the adventure it always brings.  It is always so cool to see God go before you and prepare the way for things that you never expect!  He is alive and ALWAYS GOOD!

We are continuing to work with the church in Tegucigalpa, Rebano de Jesus.  They are growing by leaps and bounds.  The little group of 50 or so that we started working with three years ago, is now close to 250!  They are putting a badly needed new roof on their facility, and we are trying to help get them funds for that.  It is going to cost them around $15,000.00 for that whole project, and they are well on their way to getting the money together for it.  They especially need it before rainy season sets in.  If you would like to help in any way with that, please let us know.  You can still send funds through:

Command Evangelism

641 Walapai Drive

Fuquay-Varina, N.C. 27526

We still thank God regularly for all of you who made it possible for us to serve down there.  Who knows?  God may have some more of those kinds of adventures for us down the road.  We are sure open to it!

May His grace and peace be yours in fullest measure!!!!

The Highlander

Greetings friends!

Well, our recent trip to Honduras was, as expected, a great blessing, as well as a blast!  It was also a trip that made Denise and I very homesick for our “other home”.  It was wonderful to see dear friends that we have missed terribly, and to revisit many of the places where we have done ministry over the last four years.  Cesar, one of the best friends we have in this world, took us around all week, and Alberto, one of our other “sons”, helped our group with translation.

The church in Tegucigalpa, Rebano de Jesus, continues to grow, both numerically and spiritually.  We held a service there the second night, and with just word of mouth about us being there, we had well over seventy five percent of the congregation in attendance!  The service was alive, stirring, and God touched many lives (especially ours and our groups), that night.  I fought back the tears for as long as I could, but then just broke down as we stood at the front as they prayed for us at the close.

We were finally able to make it back to Santa Elena where we have wanted to help the people get clean water from the mountain for so long.  We had been collecting blankets to take down to them for nearly two months, and the people here at Mount Pisgah, as well as some of Anna’s co-workers at Starbucks, were so gracious in their giving to help us.  Yes, it does get cold up there, and because it is in cloud forest, it is a damp cold.  So,  blankets are a real need. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I hope I can keep a connection here long enough to get this out.  Right now, we operate off of a wireless connection because we cannot get DSL where we are located…yet.  It is either this, or dial-up (yuk!).  Right now, I have three bars, so I am trying to type fast!

Life for all of us has been a REALLY big adjustment over these last four months.  I do not think that we ever saw some of it coming. Moving back into the culture and way of life here has been a transition that has required big doses of grace and mercy from Papa.  I was telling a friend of ours just his last week, that I know that deep inside of me there is a river of tears that is ready to burst forth at some point, I just do not know when.  I do know that when it comes, it will be a good flush for my soul.

Denise and I have been reminded over and over how hard it is to move forward, while you are still looking back over your shoulder and asking the question, ”Why?”  I know that we all do this from time to time over different issues in our lives, and we get that “stuck” feeling.  You wake up just feeling numb on the inside and go through the day like you are living in some sort of weird and unexpected dream.  You wonder if you will ever feel “normal” (whatever that is), and “at home”, again.

Read the rest of this entry »

Two weeks ago, my girls and I braved the elements and went to the first showing of Prince Caspian which took place at 12:01 am. Now, I must say that I have been looking forward to this for a long time, and I was not disappointed.There in the midst of a host of college kids and a few adults who were allowed to (or were able to), stay up past their bed time, I was blessed with another fresh encounter with the living Aslan. There were several points during the movie, when I just had to keep from breaking down and crying uncontrollably. I know that may seem weird to some, but to others, it makes perfectly good sense. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever stopped and listened to many of our conversations about our relationship with God? If so, have you ever noticed how much of our language is rooted in an Old Covenant, separation mentality? Here are a few simple examples:”Welcome to the “the Lord’s house”" (Usually given when welcoming people to a Sunday morning gathering).

“Lord, we come into Your Presence…”

“Be with us Jesus…”

“Help us draw near to You…”

“Cast me not away from Your Presence”

“Come to us now Lord…”

These are just a few of the kind of Old Covenant, separation Freudian slips we make when talking about our relationship with God. Are they correct? Heck no! Read the rest of this entry »