Maria

I remember the day I found out about the tragedy that struck Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. His son had accidentally backed over one of his daughters named Maria in their driveway, leading to her death. As I mourned from a distance, I couldn't help but feel terribly for Steven Curtis' son. Imagine the guilt and pain this young man must have felt!

Several months later, I happened to catch the Chapman family during an interview with Larry King. What struck me most was the son's description of what happened immediately following the accident. As soon as he realized what he had done, he began to run away as fast as he could. His big brother, Caleb, chased after him and finally caught him. They fell to the ground together and he held his brother and told him over and over, "Everything is going to be ok! We love you! You can't leave!"

This incredible act reminds me of what God the Father has done for us! We crucified His only Son and, in our wrongdoing, ran away from Him. Yet He chases after us with amazing mercy. He continues to call out to all mankind with His words of love. And just as with Steven Curtis' son, our healing begins when we accept those very words.

Attacked By An Alligator

He pulled it out of his pocket and put it on my desk. I was familiar with the little plastic green alligator. My wife had given it to him a few years earlier as a little gift. I was an interim pastor at the time in the midst of a difficult personnel situation and Gary Blanchard, my mentor and good friend, had come to visit our church to bring some much needed encouragement. The alligator was symbolic. It was a reminder to me that I would encounter people in my life that would work against me--perhaps, even try to destroy me.

Have you ever encountered any "alligators" in your life? You may be dealing with one right now! Maybe it's a family member or a supervisor at work. I've learned that "alligators" often try to manipulate and control those around them through fear and intimidation, especially in cases where they have the authority to do so.

I ran across a verse years ago that has helped me with the "alligators" in my life. Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe."

This verse has taught me that I will never please everyone, especially the "alligators". In fact, any effort to please these people will leave me trapped. And so, when I face them now, I do all I can to seek God's approval in the situation.

BTW, one interesting fact about real alligators...while they have 3000-5000 lbs of biting force, the muscles that open their jaw are so weak that a man can hold their mouth shut with his bare hands! How much more can God hold shut the mouths of the "alligators" that come your way!

Come and see my little plastic alligator sometime. It still sits on my desk today.

Chasing Rabbits

We were honeymooners. We were young and full of life...and a bit naive. One of the funniest memories of our honeymoon was the time Cheryl and I went to a dog race. Yes! You read that correctly! Of course, we had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into. We soon found out that people were betting on a bunch of dogs chasing after automated rabbits. As you probably can imagine, our time there was short lived. We didn't gamble and found the whole experience kind of crazy!

Dallas Willard tells a story about a dog race at which the electronic rabbits actually broke down resulting in the dogs catching the rabbits. The dogs just sat there barking and yelping. They had no idea what to do. Dallas writes, "I think that's a picture of what happens to all sorts of people who catch the rabbit in their life. Whether it's wealth or fame or beauty or a bigger house, or whatever, the prize isn't what they thought it would be. And when they finally get it, they don't know what to do with their lives."

What rabbits are you chasing after these days? I want to encourage you to chase after God with all your heart. The benefits are priceless and fulfilling. To name just a few: an overcoming faith, peace, joy, contentment, love, purity, humility, patience and God-given dreams.

Let's live by the declaration of the Apostle Paul who said, "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things (Ph. 3:7)."

No more chasing those silly rabbits!!!

Church and Starbucks?

I was going to post this on Monday, but I thought it made more sense to do it before this Sunday...

It's easy to lose perspective. This is true in many areas of our lives. For those of us who have spent many years going to church, we often forget what our church culture looks like to the unchurched. I ran across this video the other day. I found myself watching it over and over. How do you think your church is doing at helping people to find Christ who come to your gatherings? How are you doing personally? I'd love to hear from you. Don't mince words!

Image Management

Image. As human beings, our natural tendency is to try to maintain our image before God and especially before others. In his new book Wild Goose Chase, Mark Batterson talks about a fascinating matrix on human personality called the Johari Window. It is made up of four quadrants.

"The arena quadrant consists of the things you know about you and others know about you. This is your public persona. The blind spot quadrant consists of the things others know about you but you don't know about you. This is where you need friends who have the courage to confront. The facade quadrant consists of the things you know about you but others don't know about you. This is where you hide who you really are. And the unknown quadrant consists of things you don't know about you and others don't know about you. This is where the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in your life."

Mark comments that we as Christians often get caught up in the facade quadrant and I completely agree. For some reason, we feel as if we need to keep up some type of perfect image before our friends and before God. The problem with this is that confession of sin is an important part of our ability to become free from the snares of the enemy.

James 5:16 says, "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with (Msg.)."

Let's never forget that God is a God who wants to make us into a new creation. This is an initial work, but it's also a process we go through until we reach perfection and none of us have arrived yet! Let's be real with each other, pray for each other, and release God's work in our lives, church and our community. In this way we will defeat the Enemy and avoid the burden and trap of image management.

I ran across a great song about all of this called Perfect People. Give it a listen!

http://www.imeem.com/jetstream88/music/S4i2CEuA/natalie_grant_perfect_people/