Category: Daily Post

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Flat Water Ahead?

Well, I broke down and did it on Saturday night.  I bought a boat!  Well, a canoe.  A nice inexpensive 14′.  I did it for Alex.  He has been asking for a canoe or kayak for a few years. And some recent thoughts and events encouraged me to move forward.

Remember that one of my goals for 2010 was to become obsessed – obsessed with God and to let him impact my life.  So with that in mind, I was recently reminded about the shortness of life and the short amount of time our children are in our homes.  That reminded me of this picture.

Those 4 men are my fathers.  Well, the baby is my actual father, but the other 3 are his father and his father and his father.  So that’s 4 generations back in the history of my family.  I would be the fifth and my sons the sixth standing on the right.  I starting thinking how little I really know about the two men on the left.  I know their names, their wife’s and their children’s names, and even their birth and death dates.  I have even stood at the foot of their graves.  But the only thing I really know about them exists through what I know about my grandfather and my father.  I don’t know how they lived each day, but the overall impact of their choices and decisions for sure have had impact on me.  So then I look forward and I think about 4 generations ahead and what they will write on their iMinds ( that’s an futuristic Apple product that just connects directly to your brain!) about their grandparents?

Deep stuff, so what does that have to do with a boat? Everything!

I figure that my legacy for those potential future generation is set in the way I approach every single day.  I don’t have huge plans of grandeur.  But I think that each day, I can live in a way that when the “complete body of work” is examined, it will be something that points one direction – Heaven.

I hope this boat can me an instrument to help.  For you it may be golf clubs, the kitchen, or long drives.  But I am sure there are things in your life that you can use as opportunities to share the gifts we have been given.  Of course that’s on top of living each and every day in a way that brings glory to our Lord and Savior.

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:16-17 (New International Version)

18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, Deuteronomy 11:18-20 (New International Version)

So here’s to flat water, good paddling, great conversations and trips that bring us all closer to our God.

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Daily Post

Today for God?

Last night, I was listening to some clips from Francis Chan, and in this clip he mentions an idea on how to face the day.  He suggests that instead of praying today for God to give you this or to help you to that, that you instead ask God.  Ask God where he wants you today.  Ask God to lead your where he wants you to go.  Essentially instead of asking God to fit your agenda, adjust your agenda to Gods.

This is really a thought provoking way of looking at the day.  So that’s really it today.  Can you look at today and say, God, how do you want me to serve you today?  How do you want me to glorify you.. with the next customer, the next conference call, the next problem ,the next child, the next class….?

Approach you day and realize he is with you.

9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9-10New International Version (NIV)

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Daily Post

Immutable

As you know I work in the world of geekdom.  This week I was on a call where the attendees keep using the word “immutable” over and over again.. Its almost as fun as idempotent.  So I decided to instant message my neighbor and said:

Butcher, Jason T [11:46 AM]:I’m Immutable

But then, I started thinking about that word and what it means.

not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature

For lots of things in life immutability is a great thing, but for a follower of Christ this good be a bad thing. Do I really want to be immutable?  Do I want to not be subject to change in nature?  Do I want to be unalterable?  This is an interesting thought, because for many things in life, yes you do want to be constant, fixed and enduring.  Like this:

24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. (1 John 2:24-25)

But in other situations being immovable, unalterable, unchangeable and changeless is a terrible place to be.   I think as followers of the Christ, we also need to be looking for places that we are not immutable, because God’s promise is immutable.  I want to be able to say I “used to walk in these ways, in the life I once lived”, but I have changed because of the unchanging, unwavering, immutable love of God!

3-4Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

9-11Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Colossians 3:3-10 (The Message)

I think today I will tell him

Butcher, Jason T [11:46 AM]:I’m Immutable because I have changed

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The Caleb Factor

My friend Joel heads to Aruba this weekend, and I am jealous.  Yes, jealous.  Not really because of his destination, I am jealous of his preparation.  For the last 3 months, despite our constant barrage of heckling, he has been working each day to prepare his body for this trip.  Now, some of you may say – how vain, and as a matter of fact that is what most of the heckling was about.  But today I say how marvelous.  I am not sure if he hit all of his goals or not, but at least he was forcing himself everyday to work and strive for his goal.

Last night I was with a group of men who have been studying the book of Joshua.  Right there in Joshua 14 is the ultimate daily buffeter.

7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.’

10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

Caleb had a promise from Moses and God, and waited 45 years to receive it.  But he says he was as fit as the day he recieved the promise.  Don’t you think that he must have woke up everyday and thought about the gift he was to receive.  I want to believe that he worked everyday to keep himself ready to take the land and receive his gift.

What so awesome is we have a gift like that waiting for us.  A promise of eternal life if we  fix our eyes on Jesus.  Of course that’s one of the reasons I write this blog; to help each of you work each day to attain your spiritual goals and to stay focused on our promise.

Caleb was fit spiritually, he was fit physically, he “followed the LORD [his] God wholeheartedly”.

I have a trip like Joel’s coming up this summer, and he and Caleb have inspired me.  I want to follow the Lord God wholeheartedly every day, even though I fail most days.  So today I am going to publicly introduce  a small addition to this blog that I will call the Caleb Factor.  To help force me to keep in shape, not so I can take the land, but so I can always be ready to serve.  I will be sharing a little number from time to time to show my progress and my goal.  I am not turning this into a fitness blog, however, I hope you this will continue to motivate you to buffet each aspect of your body each day.

So the starting number is today’s; 184 and the idea is that in June it will be 174.

How will you let the Caleb Factor inspire you?

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Daily Post

Short and Sweet

Well, I am out of time this morning.  I spend a lot of my writing time reading about the mine disaster in West Virginia, and then I got caught up in the Governor’s press conference.  So today I don’t have many deep thoughts, but a little encouragement and a Psalm:

1 Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD “—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart! Psalm 32 (NIV)

Enjoy the day, live like you are forgiven and treat others better then you would ever want to be treated yourself!