What Are You Living For?

Have you ever awakened in the morning and gone through your morning routine and suddenly asked yourself, “Where is my life headed?” Does it ever seem to you that you have had an empty and pointless life up to this point? There may have been some successful business deals and you may have had some fun, but in terms of satisfying friendships or lasting accomplishments, your life has been a zero. Maybe you have climbed the ladder of success, only to discover that all the while it had been leaning against the wrong wall.

When one takes a look at the life of Paul, how would you put a measuring stick to his life? Was he a success or a failure? I guess it all depends on whose yardstick you use to measure success. When measured by the world’s yardstick of success, his life seemed almost insignificant. He put too much aside in order to minister to the needs of others. As Paul looks back over matters, he saw that it had been rewarding but not easy.

Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy while languishing in a cold, damp dungeon awaiting execution. In a matter of weeks, the apostle would stand before Nero, the half-insane emperor of Rome, and learn that his life was coming to an end. But Paul knew that after his death he would receive the crown of life from the King of kings. History will reveal to us that the influence of his life had in reality changed the course of history itself. As Paul penned the words of that last epistle, he stated “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:7). Wouldn’t it be grand to one day have the same confidence that the apostle had and to look over our life and say with confidence what he had penned centuries earlier.

Nero made a mark on history also. Ancient historians as well as modern historians have written volumes about the splendor of Nero and the vast Roman Empire. These same historians rarely if ever mention the apostle Paul. He was simply another radical who was put to death by the emperor. It is interesting to note that in our society we name our dogs Nero and our sons Paul. It seems to me that what we live for is pretty important after all. I think it would benefit each of us to simply review what it is that we are living for. Remember there are no losers with Jesus and no winners with the devil.

May each of you be blessed with a life that is fulfilled in service to the master.

"Lost" bringing back characters from 1st season

Reuters
By James Hibberd James Hibberd – Sun Jul 26, 9:25 pm ET

SAN DIEGO (Hollywood Reporter) – The characters Juliet Burke (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) will be back on ABC's "Lost" next year, along with several other characters who haven't been seen since the first season, producers said over the weekend during a panel presentation at the Comic-Con convention.

The revelation confirms reports that suggested a "Lost" reunion of sorts for the final season. In May's finale, the castaways detonated a bomb on the mysterious island in hopes of resetting the last several years of their lives.

The news was among a scant few tidbits dropped during a well-produced hour in San Diego that featured several new mock ads and parody shorts, but no new video from the final season.

"There's a good chance you'll be seeing many characters you haven't seen since the first season again," said executive producer Damon Lindelof.

The final season, producers said, will in some ways resemble the first.

"(In the first season, the characters) were running around the jungle, things felt intense and surprising and (there was) the emotional discovery about the characters," said executive producer Carlton Cuse. "We have a way that we're going to be able to do that in the final season too."

Yet fans shouldn't think that any sort of narrative reboot will invalidate everything that's already happened, "because that would be a real big cheat," said Jorge Garcia, who plays Hugo on the show.

"Just trust us," reassured Cuse.

The show will also employ a new narrative device that's unique to the final season.

"The time-travel season is over, the flash-forward season is over," Lindelof said. "We're going to do something different."

As for lingering mysteries about the show's story, "everything that matters we're gonna answer," assured Lindelof.

Fans camped overnight to see the "Lost" panel at Comic-Con, which occupied the pop-culture convention's largest ballroom, usually reserved for presentations on major summer movies.

Other news from the panel:

* The matter of the mysterious Dharma food drops will be solved ... but there won't be much about the Dharma Initiative in the final season.

* Asked if the mysterious Jacob has ever appeared as any other character in the series, Lindelof said "no."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

Open your Eyes

I have always loved reading all the old Peanuts cartoon strips in the paper. There is a simple humor about the characters that Charles Shultz developed. The first Peanuts strip ran in 1950. In February of 2000 after 17,897 comic strips, the series came to an end. Recently there was one in the paper that caught my attention. Snoopy is looking up into the sky and is communicating with his friend Woodstock. Snoopy says “You have? You’ve actually flown above the clouds?” In the next frame, Snoopy continues and says; “Wow! What was it like?” In the final frame Woodstock mumbles something to snoopy (I guess in animal talk). Snoopy responds, “Well you shouldn’t have closed your eyes.”


I believe there are a number of things that we are blind to in our life. We hurry from place to place and never take the time to open our eyes to see the beauty that is around us. Maybe it is a scarlet red maple tree that we drive by every day. It might be a beautiful sunset as the clouds disappear just at the right time to allow the sun to set in all of its beautiful glory. There are times when you could slow down and watch the birds gather around your bird feeder and enjoy the meal that you have left for them. There are countless items that we seem to be blind to, or seemingly have our eyes closed just like Woodstock.


As important as it is to keep our eyes open to the beauty and might of God’s wonderful creation, it is even more import to keep our eyes open to the word of God. To know and understand what God’s will is for each of us. Wouldn’t it be a shame to go through life with our eyes closed to the wonderful teaching of God’s word. It is in God’s word, the Bible that we can gain strength to face another day. II Thessalonians 3:3 tells us “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” When I know that I can face the day with renewed optimism, it gives me an entirely different outlook on life. If I closed my eyes to that simple truth, imagine what I would be missing. What would my life be if I closed it to the truths of Romans 15:4; “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Isn’t it wonderful to be able to read the beloved stories of the Bible and receive encouragement so that I can have hope. As we go through life, let each of us resolve to keep our eyes open not only to the beauties around us, but also to the comfort that we can find in God’s word.

Don Meyer: A True Hero

When I was a kid, my Grandfather and Grandmother Smith were some of the biggest Lipscomb University Basketball fans ever. They, along with the McKelvey's, had season tickets together, sitting proudly in McQuiddy Gymnasium watching the Bison play their games.

In 6th grade, I went to Lipscomb's basketball camp. I was fortunate enough to learn and study under this gentleman. It did me some good, because I ended up coaching on a State Championship team at Westbury Christian.

Don Meyer has touched the lives of so many. Now, he's had impact on even more. This could be the best 5 minutes or so of television I've ever seen: (this link may end up being kicked off of YouTube, if it does I'm sorry)

Getting Fit Week 10

A bit scary yes, but this after 10 weeks in the gym. Still not perfect, but I'm trying my best. I've always had pretty scrawny arms, so I'm trying to pump those up. While I haven't been working the biceps out that much, I've really been working my triceps hard.













My posture has always been pretty poor. I've probably worked my back and shoulders out more than I ever have. I personally think my back, shoulders, and neck area are looking better than ever.














This is the side profile shot that shows how skinny people are. As you can tell, I'm still not skinny. In fact, I haven't lost any real weight, but my body fat percentage has dropped about 5%. I'm still working on chest definition, which has a looooong way to go, but I'm working the best I can on that. Its always been an issue for me.






















From 2001 to 2003, I worked in the gym like a beast. Partially, because I was a coach and had free access to a gym, and partially because I wanted to finally be fit. During that time, I worked as hard as I could.

I have a long way to go. I know I do. But the silver lining in this is that I've stuck with this for 10 weeks now. I'm proud of myself. Its still a struggle to find time to work out. Some days, I have to go in the mornings because of afternoon and evening activities. Sometimes, the afternoon around 4 or 5 is the time to go. But all too often, the time falls in the evenings, around 8:30 or so. This is after Josie has gone to sleep. Kristen and I realize that if I want to stick around and be healthy, I have to go do this, no matter what.

I got myself into this mess, and I have to work hard now to clean it up.

Deep Water Faith in the Shallow End

Do you ever notice that when you’re in the auditorium, listening to a sermon, a lesson, or participating in a moving worship service, that everything just seems to be real clear? You know what you have to do, what you should do. It seems to be easier to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. You know who you need to talk to about Jesus and the saving power that he offers, because the whole discussion is playing over in your head.

The problem is that the walk from our seats to our car is a long walk to make. Its easy to get pumped about sharing our faith with others while we’re amongst brothers and sisters who already know the Lord. That problem occurs when you’re out on your own.

Something happens between the altar and the door. You’re altar may be the church building, or the people who make up the church. It may be the close friend you sit next to on Sundays, or the families you look forward to seeing because they lift you up. Something happens, because now you’re on your own, relying on your own faith, your own walk with the Lord, to lead you and guide you.

You may start to question whether or not you can share with other people the good news of our Lord. Its so easy to have a deep faith when we’re surrounded by others who share that with us. However, please don’t forget, when you walk through those doors, Jesus is with you.

Jesus is going to walk through those doors with you. He's with you! He's ready to help you, no matter what the situation. You need to realize the commitment He has to you! Jesus walks with you every step of the way.

Sure its easier to have that deep faith on Sundays when everyone else is experiencing the same thing, but true deep faith occurs the rest of the week, when you’re out there away from the comfort of the elders and the ministers, the teachers and your friends.

There are so many areas of my life where I know I'm holding back because of fear, but I do see some freedom growing in those areas. What I find comforting is that Jesus hasn't started the journey across the bridge without me. Our shallow faith and religion tells us that Jesus keeps moving and if we don't move we'll be left behind. How can that be true when he said he would never leave us or forsake us? No. Instead, he's standing right there ahead of me encouraging me to go forward with him and, when I do, he'll be right there helping me to navigate the difficult journey.

Reclaiming America's Values

Late night talk show host and HBO® special host Bill Maher recently represented those opposed to Biblical values on Larry King Live. In response to a question about restoring the separation of church and state he said:

“I hate to sound like a broken record. It has to take place at the top. When you have a president (this took place during the Bush presidency) who is this openly religious and this openly contemptible, in contempt, rather, of the separation of church and state, I don’t think anything is going to change until that changes. This is a man who proudly says that Jesus picked him to be president. You said something about, ‘You have to respect people’s beliefs.’ I know that’s what we always hear—we have to respect. I’m sorry, I don’t. I don’t respect religion. I don’t respect superstitious thinking, which is what religion is.”

“We talked about this before, this whole gay issue wouldn’t even be an issue except it says it in the Bible. The Bible, that book that has people who lived to be 900 years old and says the world is 6000 years old, and that there are people who lived in a whale. That infallible work of genius and slavery is okay. You should stone a guy to death if he works on Sunday. That’s the book that says, ‘Sorry, no homosexuals.’ So I’m sorry, I don’t respect people who believe in religion. I was religious when I was a kid. We all had dumb stuff drilled into our head. It doesn’t mean when you get to be an adult you can’t drill it out.”

Many social and political leaders of our era are attempting to discredit the teaching of the Bible and eliminate any accountability to God. The enemies of God are willing to ridicule Christians, rewrite history, sandblast Scripture off walls, redesign city seals to erase the cross, change the Pledge to remove any mention of God so we can live as we please.

But if there is no Creator, no validity to the Bible, then there is no foundation for right and wrong and the result is national confusion and chaos. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

If you neglect your car, it takes a while for the engine to become so polluted that it breaks down. And if a nation neglects its moral values, it takes a while for the complete collapse to occur, but it’s inevitable. Arnold Toynbee, respected historian, wrote that, of the 22 major civilizations in history, 19 collapsed from within. That was written before the fall of the Soviet Union. We are not exempt. Let’s reclaim America’s values!

The Day I Learned About Worship

I can remember when it finally hit me. I was sitting in a hot, stuffy room that held about 25 people, but had 100 crammed into it. I was 17 years old, and had been a Christian for about 3 years, but never had fully grasped this whole “worship” thing. I knew all the songs that were being sung, but was just giving them lip service and nothing more.
I was in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. There was a Honduran man standing next to me. He was probably in his forties, but looked about 75 years of age. Years of poverty, working in the hot sun, and sub-standard living conditions had not been kind to him. There was a group of about 20 teenagers singing some devotional songs in English to a group of about 80 Spanish-speaking only adults and teenagers in a small community outside of the capital city. These songs, which were routine songs we had sung over and over again, had little to no meaning to me. I continued to sing, because we were supposed to, but my mind was on a trip to the soccer field later on in the day.
All of a sudden, while I was singing the song “Worthy Is the Lamb”, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I thought maybe one of the adult leaders of our trip needed me for something, so I looked behind me, but there was no one there. I looked next to me, and the older gentleman standing next to me had placed one hand on my shoulder, had his eyes closed, and had his other hand straight up in the air.
I already knew the man spoke no English, so he didn’t understand what our words meant. All he knew was that we were singing songs of praise to our God, and he wanted to participate in the worship as well. Even though we weren’t praising with the same language, we were both praising the same God. At that moment, I realized this “worship” thing was more than just singing a song, but it was an experience. It was something that I needed to understand more. At that moment, I felt a tear roll down my cheek, and I finally grasped that my worship to God was not just for my benefit, but was to first of all praise God, and second of all, to teach and admonish others.
Paul tells us in I Corinthians 14:19 that he would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. That day, this man knew we were speaking of God, His Love, and His Grace. Those words were enough for him to enter into his own time of worship. Today, we’re going to learn how to grow in our worship to God. May God bless our worship service today, and accept our praise to Him.