Closeminded

One of the main accusations I’ve heard people say about Christians is that they are close-minded and/or narrow-minded. That one has always puzzled me a bit. I can understand that maybe if a Christian was unjustly judging someone, and yes that happens a lot in today’s church; however that’s not always the case. It bothers me that Christians tend to be painted as the villain of a story by standing up for what the Word of God tells them to do. I’d like to share a story with you…something that ingrained itself in my mind. When I was a senior at Ohio State in late 2007, I was walking from my car to the bus stop to get to class. I noticed some Gideons standing out in the rain handing out bibles to students as they walked by. The Gideons said very little if anything at all. They were just handing out Bibles. I found it touching that these men were braving the chilly rainy day to show these students love. When I got on the bus I sat in front of a girl who was on the phone with a friend cursing up a storm. She was complaining about these Gideon’s shoving God down her throat on campus and how they had no business being there. She continued her verbal barrage on Christianity all the way to class, constantly noting things about Christians that weren’t true. So the question I’m posing here is this: Who is really being narrow-minded? Who is really judging?

I saw a story recently about a group of Christians that were going to a district in San Francisco every week to pray for the people living there. One week, while there praying for the people in that district, a local man saw them and started yelling at them and asking why they were there. The group responded that they love the people there and are just praying for them. The man went after them verbally some more before leaving and bringing back friends. Eventually a mob formed around them and began to verbally assault the Christians praying there. It soon became physical and they began to do things like pour coffee on them, punch them, and kick them. All the while they spewed all kinds of verbal judgments on the Christians. Eventually the police, in riot gear, got involved. The police told the Christians there that they needed to leave but they initially refused before the mob grew even more intense. The police eventually forced the Christians to leave. A video on You Tube picked it up with the police escorting them out of the district and the mob hurling things at them, and screaming obscenities at them. In the video you hear one person commenting something along the lines of “You hate us, so we hate you. You’re not welcome here. Don’t come back!” These words were spoken to people who were there for one purpose and that was to share God’s love with them.

So let me ask you: who was really sitting in the judgment seat in these examples? Who was really being close-minded? It seems that as we grow closer to the end times and as our country grows further from God, the tide is turning. Christians are now the ones being judged more then before. That does not mean Christians don’t judge because we do…for all have sinned and fallen short, but its time for Christians to realize that we don’t get the benefit of the doubt any more. We aren’t seen with prestige but with mud on our faces. Its not just Christians who can be close minded, but the very same people who claim to be open minded as well.

Prayer

I found Gary's teaching today on prayer to be interesting. He made a comment that stuck with me as I went home today. He noted that when we ask God for something in prayer, its about something more then just what we ask Him, but also about something deeper. Ok...I'm paraphrasing here but you get the point. I looked back at my last two years and I realized how many things I asked God without sharing some of my deeper motives. I don't feel bad about it or anything. It's not like I realized I wasn't sharing with God. Sometimes we just need to think and pray about it more...sometimes we just simply don't see what we are burying in our hearts. I can only change the now. As much as I pray now I know I need to get deeper with God. I want Him, and not just because I want a good life. I want Him because when its all said and done, I love being with Him, and knowing He's there. I'm all for a deeper commitment to prayer.

Fingerprint

This past week I was fortunate enough to get hired at one of the finer companies in the country, at least in my opinion. During the entire onboarding process you have to go through a background check, which being a former military guy was no big deal, along with a drug test, again no big deal. Gees the most you'll find in me is my morning AMP or Rockstar. But when they took my fingerprint, I got to thinking about where I've left my fingerprints. More importantly, what fingerprints are on me. I went home that day and looked around my apartment and I noticed how many fingerprints are still in the house from my marriage. A wire that she ran from the tv area to my computer is still there hanging in its place (man its an eyesore...never should have gave in on that one..lol). The living room is still set up the way she set it up...she's left her mark. The more I think about it I've come to realize that she's left her mark on me for the rest of my life. I'll never forget what happened between us, and my thought life and logic have been forever altered by what happened. The truth is her fingerprint has marked my life. However, my fingerprint is on her life. All of positive and negative actions will be forever with her. Everything I ever did to breath life into her will carry on. We've forever altered each others lives.

So by now you're probably asking...."Derek, whats your point?" While my statement is a much more intimate example, the truth is everyday we leave our fingerprint on someone elses life that will forever alter them in some kind of way. The actions we take form a legacy that is carried forward. Unfortunately, the legacy left behind in my life from my exwife is alot of hurt, but I can not disregard the positive marks she made on me. On the other hand, I'm hoping despite my mistakes, that the positive marks I left on her life will continue to bless her. The marks are eternal! So today when you spend time with your loved ones, or meet new people, I just want you to think of the mark you are leaving on their life at that moment. The way we treat others leaves a finger print... I hope the fingerprints I've left on others are positive. I hope the prints I've left with you bless you more then you could ever know.

Dreams

I think its amazing that somehow I've managed to hold on to all my dreams and even come up with new ones over the past couple of years. Many of these dreams are God-planted and I know they can only come to fruition by faith in who He is. I think sometimes I try to make things happen that aren't there and since I try hard at pretty much everything I do, those things don't usually always end well. Yet I still have dreams and I understand that while God has given me those dreams, I need to just submit them back to Him. They aren't just my dreams, they are His. I think this is evidenced in everything from my dating life to professional life. I understand that He won't relent until He has it all....He wants my heart. (Great Misty Edwards praise and worship song) Those dreams are part of my heart. I'm going to write out my prayer here. I'm not posting it here to garner attention or to try and take away from private time from Him, but to publicly state what I am giving my God.

Dear Father, thank you for all that you are and if I have done anything this evening against you please forgive me. Father, its strange that I talk to you everyday but yet can't seem to give the simplest things to you. Despite all the places you've taken me in the past year and a half, I still find ways to hold back pieces of myself hidden from you. Father, I have all these dreams buried in me for a wife and a family. I want the opportunity to love a woman again and do things the way you ordained them to be. Oh God to have a second chance...it is my hearts desire. I want to hold a son or daughter and whisper that Jesus loves them into their ears as I put them down to sleep and pray over them one last time for the night. I want the opportunity to raise them up in you with no fear but in your strength. Oh God I give these hopes and dreams to you and trust that you will provide when the time is right.

Lord, you've placed in my heart a ministry for relationships...take this dream Lord and do your will please oh Father. Prepare me Lord. Give me wisdom and the strength to stand in Love. Give me your eyes to see people as you see them, and not as I sometimes see them. Make me into a man that you will use to change the world. Oh Father take this dream....take it and grow it please Oh God. In the meantime, Father please just guide me where to go and what to do. I submit this to you knowing I have no idea what I'm doing and that I need you to hold my hand through it. I can not face this alone. Take my dreams, hopes, shortcomings, strengths, my weaknesses, flaws and fill me with your joy. Take it Father....please just take it. Help me to be myself 100 percent of the time again, not just half the time. Help me to make my friends laugh again like I used to. Help me to be who you made me to be. I love you Jesus and thank you for all that you are doing in my life.

Derek

UFC 96...and Lifechange

Every year and every time the UFC comes to Ohio, my brother and I have a tradition of putting down whatever money we can and we go. We love going to watch mixed martial arts and its usually our big bonding time of the year. This year was a little bit different because we decided to go all out and get floor seats. I thought it was a waste of money because there wasn't a title fight on this card and I didn't want to spend that kind of money for a card without a title fight. However, the entire thing proved us wrong. Our seats were by the fighter's entrance and exit and believe it or not, at one point we were on TV as one of the camera guys came and got footage of us cheering. One of the guys we were hanging out with confirmed we were on TV! We had such a blast!!!! We met numerous fighters from Junie Browning to Randy Couture. It was such a great time.

However, it was also a sad time. At every other UFC I've ever been to I've noticed some of the wrong things that surround the sport, alcohol, sex, and vanity included. However, last night with the Arnold Classic in town, it really hit me hard at how many people in that arena were lost or maybe even confused. I realized that if the world were to end today a large portion of the people in that arena would spend their eternity in Hell and not with Jesus. It broke my heart. The Lord is beginning to form more of a heart for the lost. It's not to judge but to love and let God do the rest. My prayer is that God continues to each day give me a bigger heart for Jesus.

Also I saw LifeChange today at church. It happened with my brother upon hearing Konan preach this morning. The funny thing is Jimmy told me last night that he did not want to go to church this morning. I stood my ground and told him, "You know the rules, if you stay under my roof, when Sunday comes around, you are going to church." He hushed his mouth and this morning with very little resistance he went to church. Now my brother is very outgoing and has a very commanding presence, but when he walked into my church, I saw him shrink. Something within his heart was humbled and all the bravado went away. When Keri came up to do the frisbee thing with the new visitors, he shied away and I actually had to point at him to get him to take a frisbee. I laughed and said, "Come on Jimmy, you're the same person that can go to all these public places and light it up, but you're going to back away in church." He looked away from me and I backed off not wanting to push him away, but it was very noticeable how different he was behaving. Then Pastor started his message and Jimmy, being HDAD as he is, sat and listened to everything Konan said. He didn't just listen but he laughed with, studied, and digested everything that was said. The message that Konan spoke today was a message that was designed for my brother even though the point of the message was for something else.

When we left church I asked Jimmy how it was and he said it was great and then he proceeded to actually go through the scriptures and the message with me. At this point, I saw an opening and reminded him that God has a plan for his life. He said he doubted that, but I said he did. Jimmy then pointed out a house and sat maybe its that house. I replied with: "No Jimmy, he has a plan for you." At this point he expressed doubt before going back into talking about the message some more! I was absolutely stunned at the sudden change in my brother! What was going on? Well, God was going on. Before Jimmy left I ended up giving him my Bible and reminded him of God's plan. He also wanted C3's website and requested to know where to get the podcast of the message. Man, I hope our guys upload it soon to the site because my brother is hungry. Today is the day I truly realized that Jimmy will one day walk with Jesus again and I believe its going to happen sooner rather then later. Praise God.

Destiny

I've found that a major difference between now and when I ran from God is that there is a feeling of destiny now in my life. I don't really understand it. I can't really put into words. But I can't shake it and it seems that the people who are around me and know me can see it more then I can. The truth about my life is that I'm a 30-year-old divorced male who until about 18 months ago was sprinting as fast as he could from God. It seems strange that now here I am in front of keyboard proclaim to have a destiny.

I kind of relate to Superman (though I am far from Superman). In his hometown of Smallville, Clark Kent was just trying to graduate high school and try and figure out who he is and where he needed to go. He knew he wanted to help people but how? He didn't know he was going to be Superman or marry Lois Lane or that Lex Luthor would become his greatest enemy. He just knew he had to move forward. Thats where I am...I don't know who I'm going to marry, I don't know how many children I'm going to have. I don't know how God is going to be using me in 10 years. I don't know anything but hints and clues. I know, like Superman, that I have a destiny. I'm not saying that I'm going to become a larger-then-life hero or anything like that. I just know that God has his hand on my life.

Do you have a sense of destiny?

"Pick Up Your Sword"

Micah and I went on a pilgrammage of sorts this weekend. We rented a car with money we don't have, and drove 11 hours starting before dawn on Saturday morning to Kansas City, Missouri. We encountered cleared skies, cloudy skies, and finally a snow storm just outside of the city. We came here seeking the face of God away from Columbus just so we could focus on our walks outside of the disturbances of everyday life. I wanted to focus on God and get some of the garbage cleared out of me that has lingered in me for most of my life. So we went to my friend's place and made our way to the International House of Prayer (IHOP). Its a 24/7 house of prayer where people literally fast and pray there every day...and night. It was a great opportunity to just spend time in God's presence and seek His face.

So we went to the prayer room for about an hour and a half and got soaked up for the evening and then we went to get food with our friends. We then went to Saturday night service and listened to Mike Bickle teach on the Book of Revelation...well more specifically the 6th seal of judgment. It was interesting and I'm definitely going to study it, but honestly thats not why I was there. I was there to seek God's face. I was there to get healing in my heart. I was there wanting my God to touch my life. I've never been so hungry for God. I've never wanted Him more then I did (and do) tonight. So when Mr. Bickle finished his teaching he invited anyone who needed prayer to come up and I looked at Micah and I got up and went to the front. I started praying and decided that I was not leaving until God touched me.

I continued to pray but I started getting the feeling in my core that I needed to pray for the man next to me. In my mind I questioned God and said I was there to be prayed for...who am I to pray for anyone? Finally I gave in and turned to pray for the man next to me just as he was turning towards me. He said, "Hello my name is Lonny, and I think God wants me to pray for you." I said I thought I was supposed to pray for him and we decided to pray for each other. I prayed for him and sure enough God gave me a word for him. And then he prayed for me...and he had a word for me. He said God loves me, and that I needed to focus on the cross. He reminded me of the my salvation and how I was washed clean. Something like that anyways. We prayed a little more and then chatted for a second before Lonny hooked up with Micah and they talked for a bit. I said I wasn't done and walked back up to the altar. I wanted more.

I began to imagine a heart with wounds. It was torn and shredded. I started to see that heart mend until it was a whole heart again. The cycle repeated itself and I intensified the prayer. Then another man came up to me and gave me the same exact message as Lonny gave me. At that point it really hit me. God wasn't wanting anything major at that moment. He wasn't wanting to tell me about all of my future plans and etc. He just wanted me to know how much He loves me. Ever since I lost my marriage, I've fought so hard for others in trying to encourage them that I think I've really missed the understanding of how much He loves me. I've always known how much He loves me, but it wasn't apparent either. It wasn't until tonight when two different men whom I've never met came up and gave me the exact same message did I understand how much His love is real. I finally understood that His blood has saved me, but His love has also healed my heart through the cleansing healing power of His blood. It was a breakthrough moment for me. I'll never forget the realization of God's love that came to me tonight. I asked for Him to change my life...and in that moment, He did.

I still stayed there though...and prayed a little longer. I just asked talking to him and before I knew it I was speaking out loud the words that began to flow in my heart. "Pick up your sword, you are a member of the Army of God. I love you and you do love Me. I will always be with you, and you will always be with me. I will never leave you, so pick up your sword and fight."

These words are huge for me because I've always wanted to be a warrior. He knew exactly what he was saying to me. He knew how to reach my heart. He knew how to get to me...and he did. He has validated me and loved me. He has anointed me and commisioned me. What a mighty God we serve. What a mighty God indeed.