Less Than the Best

I was listening to Erwin McManus the other day. He was talking about beauty. Sometimes we recognize beauty, or at least we think we do. Many times, however, I'm afraid we don't recognize true beauty.

After Jesus rose from the grave, the Bible says that as He was walking along the road He approached two men who were walking along the same road. Jesus began to talk to the two men, and they walked and talked until they arrived in the town of Emmaus. They even invited Jesus to have dinner with them, which He did. Jesus took the bread, broke it, prayed over it and began giving it to the two men. Suddenly they recognized Him. They had just spent hours with Jesus, talking about the events that had just taken place in Jerusalem (the crucifixion of the great teacher and prophet, Jesus from Nazareth). They didn't even recognize Him until He revealed Himself to them. Then their eyes were opened to the true beauty of the Savior of the world.

We just got back from an amazing Encounter Retreat. We took 22 people and helped them experience and recognize Jesus in their own lives. They were challenged to recognize the best. They were encouraged to settle for nothing less than the best.

We so often settle for good enough. We get tired of trying and striving, so we give up and hope that we've done a good enough job. I'm not saying we have to be perfect (although we are commanded to try). We are still battling the selfish nature of the flesh. But we should not give up the race! We should not stop and walk if we are running a marathon! We must keep pressing on toward the goal!

Have you trained yourself to settle for and appreciate less than the very best? Have you become so accustomed to settling for less than the best, that you no longer recognize true beauty? Think about your own life. What are the things you are involved in? What do you like to do? Is it the best use of your time? You may say "It's good enough." But is it?

God sent His Son, Jesus, to this earth so that we could enjoy an eternal relationship with Him. Would you recognize His beauty if you saw Him today?

Think about it...

Encounter God

I'm off to be a part of a Southbrook Encounter retreat. These retreats are special times for all those involved. Many lives have been affected deeply by attending and being a part of these weekends.

What is it? It's a time to get away from the distractions of everyday life, and put your entire focus on Jesus for about 24 hours. During this time, through different experiences, you have the opportunity to have an encounter with God, who desperately wants to have an encounter with you.

I am looking forward to what God is going to do this weekend. Please pray for the entire Encounter Team, as well as for each of the individuals who are attending, that they would truly have a face to face encounter with God, and that they will never be the same again.

Growing in Obedience

I promised the kids that when I finished school, we would get a dog. We went Saturday afternoon and picked out a beautiful little lab mix from the animal shelter. Her name is Abby. Now we get to endure the wonderful phase of house training. Joy.
She's pretty smart, so it's been going pretty well. In fact, she has been a quick learner all around. When she wants to be, anyway.
It kinda reminds me of our relationship with God. We hear God when we want to. When a treat is in hand, we come running. When it's time to stop chewing on that thing we shouldn't be chewing on, we seem to be pretty good at pretending we don't hear God say "No!"
But eventually she will learn. Sure, she'll 'forget' every now and then. She'll mess up, slip up, call it what you want. She will disobey. But as puppies grow into dogs, if they are trained right, they will become obedient and faithful to their masters.
As a child of God, do you find yourself becoming more obedient to God? We all 'mess up' (it's called sin). We all misbehave. But as we progress through life, we should find ourselves becoming more and more obedient and faithful to our Father in heaven.
I'm looking forward to the day when Abby hears my voice and obeys me. Are you listening to and obeying the voice of God?