have you ever seen that show? I enjoy watching it when it is on TV. I normally watch it when my wife and kids are asleep in bed, because this show brings me to tears. Always! I even know how each show will play out. A boss will try 4 jobs in 4 days, will fail at those jobs, will then bring the employees to company HQ and reward them in a very cool way... this always happens, and I always cry when this happens!!!
As I pondered this show, I began to think of Jesus.... after all, He is the original Undercover Boss... John 1:10-13 says: He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent,nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God." (NIV)
While Jesus was in this world, people didn't recognize Him as The Boss, some rejected Him as the Boss, but to those who accepted Him as the Boss, He gives the right to become children of God... how cool is that?
Jesus, The Boss of the Universe, left company HQ and came to this earth to give us an out of this world retirement plan... this is enough to make even the toughest of us cry.... or at least make me cry, which doesn't take much!
have you accepted Jesus, first Undercover Boss?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
I Love You!
Our youngest daughter, Erica, has started doing something that has the power to melt my (sometimes stubborn and calloused) heart.
There are many days that I will come home from work and she will greet me with her arms wide open and say “I love you daddy!” and proceed to give me a big hug! I love coming home from work those days!
But this is not the only time Erica will tell me that she loves me.
When she is being scolded for something wrong (which is the only time one should be scolded) she will, as I am reminding her why I sent her to her bedroom, she will interrupt me, and say, with tears in her eyes: I love you daddy” and give me that big hug…
She could have picked a better time than that to tell me that, because most of the time, I simply hug her, and remind her in a gentle way that I love her too, but what she did was wrong.
She will remain in her room for a few more moments and then she will be allowed to come back out.
As I pondered Erica’s statement—“I love you daddy”—my mind goes to 1 John 3:1 which says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)
One of the definitions of the word Lavished is: “to expend or give in great amounts or without limit”
As much as Erica loves me, God loves me even more! He has generously—and graciously—given great amounts of His love to me, and to you, so much love that we cannot begin to imagine the entire scope of it all..
But the fact remains: God Loves Us!!
There are many days that I will come home from work and she will greet me with her arms wide open and say “I love you daddy!” and proceed to give me a big hug! I love coming home from work those days!
But this is not the only time Erica will tell me that she loves me.
When she is being scolded for something wrong (which is the only time one should be scolded) she will, as I am reminding her why I sent her to her bedroom, she will interrupt me, and say, with tears in her eyes: I love you daddy” and give me that big hug…
She could have picked a better time than that to tell me that, because most of the time, I simply hug her, and remind her in a gentle way that I love her too, but what she did was wrong.
She will remain in her room for a few more moments and then she will be allowed to come back out.
As I pondered Erica’s statement—“I love you daddy”—my mind goes to 1 John 3:1 which says: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (NIV)
One of the definitions of the word Lavished is: “to expend or give in great amounts or without limit”
As much as Erica loves me, God loves me even more! He has generously—and graciously—given great amounts of His love to me, and to you, so much love that we cannot begin to imagine the entire scope of it all..
But the fact remains: God Loves Us!!
Friday, February 18, 2011
God's Masterpiece
I watched this video today.. it's really good.. check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8OVnf4Iguo
I think this is an excellent video. God has a plan for me, and He wants to chisel away all that is not like Him.... this is what I want.. how about you?
It will Hurt, yes, and often has, but I want what God wants.. to work away God, Work away....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8OVnf4Iguo
I think this is an excellent video. God has a plan for me, and He wants to chisel away all that is not like Him.... this is what I want.. how about you?
It will Hurt, yes, and often has, but I want what God wants.. to work away God, Work away....
Friday, February 11, 2011
Whose impacting you??
I spent some time this week with people-- men-- who I have allowed to speak in to my life.
While nothing major was talked about, the fact remains we were together and we were talking about anything and everything.... we were open and honest with each other and we were glad to be with each other... this is called friendship, or more specifically, community....
the bible reminds us that we were not created to do life alone. We were called to do life together. we all need help to make us better people, and if we follow Jesus, better Christians.
my life was a little better this week, because of the time I spent with these different men..
how about you? Who have you allowed to speak into your life? I don't care how old you are, we all need someone who can challenge us, who can speak into our life, who can help us to be better people. the Bible says "two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work...." (see Ecc. 4:9-12)
Who can speak into your life?
While nothing major was talked about, the fact remains we were together and we were talking about anything and everything.... we were open and honest with each other and we were glad to be with each other... this is called friendship, or more specifically, community....
the bible reminds us that we were not created to do life alone. We were called to do life together. we all need help to make us better people, and if we follow Jesus, better Christians.
my life was a little better this week, because of the time I spent with these different men..
how about you? Who have you allowed to speak into your life? I don't care how old you are, we all need someone who can challenge us, who can speak into our life, who can help us to be better people. the Bible says "two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work...." (see Ecc. 4:9-12)
Who can speak into your life?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Use that Plate!
Most of our parents had that “special china” that was stored away in the cupboard, only to be used for “special occasions” such as Christmas dinners and Thanksgiving feasts.
When your mother pulled out the good china, you knew something special was going to take place, and you had better be careful not to break the dishes, because they were priceless air-looms, handed down from generation to generation.
As I think about serving God, I believe that He wants us to be “special china”. Let me direct you to a Scripture verse to explain what I mean---
2 Timothy 2:20-21 says: “In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.
21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” (NLT2)
Interesting set of verses. If we want to be used by God in a special way, we are instructed to keep our lives clean, keep our lives pure… to avoid sin like the plague.
To be a “special utensil for honorable use” we must wash ourselves with the word of God and allow His Glory to sweep over us so that we will be clean and ready to do the work that God has prepared for us to do.
When your mother pulled out the good china, you knew something special was going to take place, and you had better be careful not to break the dishes, because they were priceless air-looms, handed down from generation to generation.
As I think about serving God, I believe that He wants us to be “special china”. Let me direct you to a Scripture verse to explain what I mean---
2 Timothy 2:20-21 says: “In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.
21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” (NLT2)
Interesting set of verses. If we want to be used by God in a special way, we are instructed to keep our lives clean, keep our lives pure… to avoid sin like the plague.
To be a “special utensil for honorable use” we must wash ourselves with the word of God and allow His Glory to sweep over us so that we will be clean and ready to do the work that God has prepared for us to do.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
it's been a while
I know, I know, it's been too long since my last post. It's not that I have nothing to say, because I do...it's just that, well each time I think of it, my computer is turned off... anyway, here goes nothing...
You know something that drives me nuts? Automatic dispensers. You know what I mean... if you go to a restroom and try to wash your hands, no longer is there a tap to turn on, now you have to wave your hand a million times to start the automatic water dispenser, and then it only stays on for a short time, (and its always cold!!!). If you want soap, you have to wave your hand over soap pump, wait for the "taps" to turn on again, and then wash your hands.
to dry your hands you either have the choice to use the dyer or the paper towel dispenser, which are, both automatic. The paper towel dispenser only spits out a small sheet that would not even clean up spilled milk....
in case you haven't figured it out yet, automatic dispensers drive me nuts.......
some people think God is an automatic dispenser. we can just show up, wave our hands around and expect Him to act.
or better yet, we think that everyone is the same and everyone grows the same way.. this is not the case.
God created us all different, (I heard that amen) and we grow different. some things that might be wrong for me might not be wrong for you, and some ways that I connect with God might not work for you.... that's the beauty of God. We're all different, but He' s the same!!
The Bible says: "There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)
God has gifted us all in different ways, and He can use us all in different ways. we're not robots....... and we're not created to be.. God has a plan for all of us and He wants to accomplish that plan in through us. Thankfully, that plan does not involve automatic dispensers!!!
You know something that drives me nuts? Automatic dispensers. You know what I mean... if you go to a restroom and try to wash your hands, no longer is there a tap to turn on, now you have to wave your hand a million times to start the automatic water dispenser, and then it only stays on for a short time, (and its always cold!!!). If you want soap, you have to wave your hand over soap pump, wait for the "taps" to turn on again, and then wash your hands.
to dry your hands you either have the choice to use the dyer or the paper towel dispenser, which are, both automatic. The paper towel dispenser only spits out a small sheet that would not even clean up spilled milk....
in case you haven't figured it out yet, automatic dispensers drive me nuts.......
some people think God is an automatic dispenser. we can just show up, wave our hands around and expect Him to act.
or better yet, we think that everyone is the same and everyone grows the same way.. this is not the case.
God created us all different, (I heard that amen) and we grow different. some things that might be wrong for me might not be wrong for you, and some ways that I connect with God might not work for you.... that's the beauty of God. We're all different, but He' s the same!!
The Bible says: "There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called--5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)
God has gifted us all in different ways, and He can use us all in different ways. we're not robots....... and we're not created to be.. God has a plan for all of us and He wants to accomplish that plan in through us. Thankfully, that plan does not involve automatic dispensers!!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
New Things
I recently had to upgrade some things in my winter wear. I had to purchase new gloves, as the old ones were not keeping my hands warm, and they were full of holes. I also had to purchase new winter boots. Sneakers weren't cutting it anymore. Cold hands and cold feet aren't something that I like very much... my hands and feet are stay nice and warm now, and for that I am very apprecitative.
We all like getting new things, but what about getting something that we really need--- a new You?!
I believe that we can become new people. We cant become new on our own, but with the help of God, we can become new people... Jesus said in John 3:3"...I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (NIV)
If we want to be made New, we must surrender our lives over to Jesus Christ and allow Him to make us new creations-- (See 2 Corinthians 5:17). He can make us what we need to be, what He wants us to be, what we were created to be.
Only God can transform us into new people, and I must tell you, there is nothing like enjoying something new-- be it a new glove, a new winter boot, or even a new You!
We all like getting new things, but what about getting something that we really need--- a new You?!
I believe that we can become new people. We cant become new on our own, but with the help of God, we can become new people... Jesus said in John 3:3"...I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (NIV)
If we want to be made New, we must surrender our lives over to Jesus Christ and allow Him to make us new creations-- (See 2 Corinthians 5:17). He can make us what we need to be, what He wants us to be, what we were created to be.
Only God can transform us into new people, and I must tell you, there is nothing like enjoying something new-- be it a new glove, a new winter boot, or even a new You!
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