I'll Have The Major Portion of Perspective, With a Dab of Get Over Yourself on the Side.

O perspective, how you mock me. You wait until I feel I cannot take anymore, then you remind me that my best friend's 5 year old daughter is undergoing chemo for the next six and a half months. Fighting for her life in an epic battle with cancer. She is going through at five years old what most people will never face. What a trooper!! She is an amazing girl that always considers Christ. She is a true witness for Jesus in all that she does. She never hesitates to speak that name of Jesus to those around her, nor does she doubt the power of prayer. Both witnessing and prayer have been a major part of her life since she could first speak. God blessed her with an amazing mind to understand and heart to comprehend the Kingdom at a young age. I just know that God is going to use Jada through this trial to bring many to faith in Jesus. For me, she is helping me to have a heaping helping of perspective.The double bout of vomiting that I somehow persevered would be to Jada a welcome break from the hell she is facing.

Those of you who know me have come to appreciate that my hair will be as short as humanly possible at all times. Since the time I was eighteen I have been balding, the process i know refer to as maturing. The male pattern baldness has staked its claim, it boldly proclaims that there will be hair on the sides and back of my head but nothing on top. Like Bozo the clown before me, I can either paint it red and embrace it or shave it at the first of every new week. Up to this point I have chosen the latter approach and have every intention of keeping it that way.

A little perspective please?

Jada Rumbold is a beautiful little girl with amazing eyes and a smile that could light up the darkest of rooms. As long as I have know her, she has been blessed with a tremendous head of hair (thanks to mom and dad). As reports come in on her progress the pictures paint the harsh reality, soon Jada will have no hair. I cut mine as short as I can get it as much as possible. She has no hope of keeping hers as long as she is spending time under the chemo machine. I just wish I could do something to help her understand that she is beautiful. Maybe a pep talk about the beauty of baldness with a picture of me holding two thumbs up! Na, probably would not help. My prayer is that she would realize that she is beautiful. Far more beautiful then hair, smile, or eyes. She is beautiful because she is Jada, God's daughter that He formed and fashioned as a vessel made for honor to proclaim the image of the most beautiful One. Jada's trial is teaching me. She will not go through this in vain! I will find every life application possible to make sure of that.

A little perspective please?

My best friend in the world (besides my wife) is an amazing guy. He is a great husband, dad, friend, and pastor. He is one of those guys that is not only good but great at everything he does. When we are together it's like the Olympic games. Both Doug and I share the same passions in life: family, ministry, basketball, golf, books, theology ect... So when we get together we battle it out on the court, golf course, pulpit, board games, apologetics, you get the picture. We always battle in a nice "Christian" way, although we both really want to beat the other one. Over the years I have come to the realization that in many ways Doug Rumbold is a better man than I. Not because he has a better jumper or or golf swing, not because he can out duel me on Tiger Woods 2000- 2010, but because he is a better all around student of everything he does. Every thing Doug does he does with all his heart. He does not speak a word unless his thought is completely developed on the subject. He does not preach a sermon without 50 hours of dedication and prayer to the message. He never misses his daily time of devotion to God. He is just really a solid guy that I look up to. So when I see the turmoil he is going through with Jada, I am sure that God chose the right guy to be there for a child going through what she is going through. It seems strange for me to write this because I am not sure how it fits into my theology, but Doug and Jessica have been in the process of being prepared for this moment most of their lives. I do not know better parents then the two of them, and could not recommend better people to go through this horrific challenge. They will stand strong when others would crumble, they will persevere when others would fall away, they will see this thing through when others could not. Bless you guys for your faithfulness to God and family. Doug, you are the strongest guy I know. I am encouraged and blessed watching God work through you in this time.

A little perspective please?

My current situation with disobedient kids at the Ranch seems like a day at the beach compared to what the Rumbold family is facing. I will shut my mouth when I want to complain because I understand I have noting to cry about. You guys are an inspiration to me. Love ya.

Your somewhere in the future and you look much better than you look right now!!

My head is spinning as I try to wrap my brain around the thought that God has a future prepared for me that I must somehow apprehend. A version of me that is so much more polished (not a bald joke) than what I see when I look in the mirror. It's like I am somewhere in the future, and that version of me looks much better than my present reality. So the question is, how do I get my present reality to look more like my prophetic destiny?

So what is destiny? Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. This mystical place in the future where we somehow become all that we were made to be. In my thought process I see it more like life's divine purpose intertwined with God ordained appointments. Leading to the reality of a life lived in the presence of God and blessed with the favor of God. While many Christians would argue the point that our entire lives are preordained and out of our control, I believe that we have the opportunity to "choose blessing or cursing". One does not need an advanced degree in theology to understand that this human existence is propelled either towards God or away from God based on decisions that we make. What if Joseph had given in to Potiphar's wife and became her boy toy rather then staying true to the teaching of his father and commitment to God? Would there have somehow become a secondary route that lead him to 2nd in command in mighty Egypt? For some reason I do not think that would have happened. Even back when Joseph was a young boy in the fields pestering his brothers with visions and dreams, he had a prophetic destiny that needed to be fulfilled. There was going to be a future drought in the land that was going to threaten the survival of God's promised seed, and it was crucial that God had his man on the scene at the right time in the right place. Joseph's destiny was wrapped up in being all that God needed him to be even when there was no evidence that God was working toward a solution. So how do we live today in hopes that we will not miss our God ordained destiny?

Joseph stayed true to the promise and was not ashamed of his God given talents. This seems like a pretty good pattern to follow for us today. We should serve God with all that we have, always being mindful of the traps of the enemy and what we are giving up by falling into them. We should also embrace the natural talents and abilities that God has given us. Joseph was not ashamed of his dreams of his youth. The same dreams that got him thrown into a pit and an Egyptian prison paved the way to him being the most powerful man in Egypt. The same bravado that separated him from his brothers enabled him to stand in front of Pharaoh and boldly proclaim the meaning of his dreams. Joseph loved God and embraced the gifts, talents, and abilities as blessings. Although this thought is no where near comprehensive, I believe it gives a jumping off point on the idea of becoming who we one day can be in God.

You are somewhere in the future and you look much better than you look right now!! God Bless

running from sin or running toward life?

As Christians we constantly find ourselves focused on the long list of things that we cannot do rather than the freedoms we have been given in Christ. We often look to the restrictions and not the liberty that is to guide our earthly existence. In my experience, this exercise of trying to "not sin" has robbed me of intimacy in relationship with Christ. In John 14:15 Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." another translation says, "if you love Me, you will keep my commandments". So here in this tiny portion of scripture we have two ides that vie for our attention: "love Me" and "keep My commandments". These two ideas were never made to be separated from one another or processed apart from each other, however I fear they have been.

Some claim to love God yet their lifestyle clearly does not live up to the charge, "keep My commandments".

Some people keep the commandments rigorously yet there is no sense of the love of God in their life. They are bitter, angry, and self righteous as a result of their successful observance of the law. So how should we live out this beautiful challenge from the Lord? We should do it running forward into all that God has for us! We should also keep them in the proper order.

1. Seek to love God with all that you have. The lawyer in Luke 10 correctly answered Jesus question about what a person must do to obtain eternal life by saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself". That is how we are supposed to love God!! We are to give Him all of us. A person that loves God with all they have does not need to focus on restrictions they cannot participate in. The closer we get to God, the closer He gets to us! The more we love God the less we love the world and the things of the world.

2. You will Keep My commandments. If you love God with all you have, the issue of keeping commandment becomes mute. People that put God first do not perceive the walls of restriction around them as an uncomfortable way of keeping them from doing what they want to do, but rather a barrier that keeps them from hurting the heart of their Father. As we strive to love God with all we have, there is an overwhelming awareness of the nearness of His presence. Our obedience and observance of the Father's rules brings life, a life that shines with the Holiness of God Himself. If you love Jesus, you will keep His commandments! You will keep them because to violate His commands is to violate Him. People who love people do not purposefully hurt those they claim to love.

3. Run forward and look forward. The trap of the enemy is to keep us looking backward at the sin we have committed or to keep us focused on restrictions put in place by our Father. Satan tempted both Eve in the garden and Jesus in the wilderness with the same bait. He questioned the will of God in the lives of both. He tried to bring questions about God's will and motives in the lives of His children. Eve utterly failed, but Jesus triumphantly prevailed over the attack of the enemy. We must purpose in our hearts that God has placed limits in our lives because 1. He loves us and 2. because He knows better than we do.

When i run I always try to give myself little goals along the way knowing that the finish line is the ultimate goal. There are days when it is hard to get out and run 5 or 10 miles because i cannot get my mind off of how far that is. Every step I take feels insignificant and i can't stop asking myself how far I have run or if I am almost finished. Sin will keep you from looking forward, it will tie you up with every little step. Sin will make you wonder if you can accomplish what you have set out to do.

The love of God will keep you looking forward and smack dab in the middle of God's will. There will still be hard times, but you can do it if you will give yourself little goals along the way. Knowing that a deeper relationship with the Father is the ultimate goal. Run forward with all you have and do not look backward. You have already conquered the miles of pavement behind you and the future is bright with the presence of God.

If you Love Me, keep my commandments John 14:15