The Password

Today is the first day of classes for the fall semester. The professor passed out some reading material and told the class to familiarize ourselves with it before we reconvene at 8:00. I immediately jumped right in so that I could be sure to finish reading it during the allotted time and the power of the Lord was present to help me to do so with time to spare. Having an extra 30 minutes left I thought about you and how I hadn't spoken with you in a while so I popped out the Mac and prepared to start typing but as I attempted to log in I realized that I had forgotten one key component in the process. I had my computer, I had an idea to share and I had a moment to spare but what I didn't have was my password. Some how I had forgotten the one thing that could give me access into the medium that allows me to share thoughts and inspirations with you. Since I didn't have the password it really didn't matter how great my thoughts were because I couldn't share them. It didn't matter how I wanted to bless you because I couldn't reach you. It didn't matter that my precious time was ticking away and the opportunity was quickly passing by. The only thing that mattered was that there was only one way to get in and I didn't have it. Friends this is not too unlike the necessity of having Christ in our lives. Our access to God is not based on all of our great intentions, on our lofty ideas or on the fact that we plan to connect when the time is right. Our access is based on our having received and internalized "the password". Just in case you have forgotten the password or no one has been so kind as to share it with you let me save you the trouble that I had to go through recovering mine...the password for eternal access to a personal relationship with God is JESUS. Write it in a safe place (in your heart) and don't forget that through a personal relationship with Him you can have 24 hour access to the God who sent Him to die for all of us so that we might connect with God in spite of our many short comings.

If you have never accepted Jesus as the Lord, leader, center or your life I'd encourage you to do so today because as disturbing as it was to be prevented access to this blog for a moment I believe that is nothing when compared to being denied access into the greatest resting imaginable for eternity.

Stay Tuned for the Feature Presentation

You walk up to the counter, pay $10 and make your way to your seat. You stop to get a few snacks at the vendor before settling in for the moment that you've been waiting for. You can't believe that you're finally about to see it...you heard it would be awesome and here you are. All of a sudden the lights are dim and your excitement has increased but you quickly realize that what you're seeing is not what you expected. You're forced to sit through several previews before you can enjoy what you've paid to see so you sit and wait patiently for the feature presentation. Life can be like that sometimes as well. You graduated from college sure that you would walk right into the career of your dreams but now that's not what you see. You walked down that aisle believing that you had found the love of your life but now that's not what you see. You thought that you could just pay your dues and have that child, get that car, buy that house, get down to that size or achieve that goal but as you take a look at your life you're forced to see experiences that you didn't want or expect. What do you do when life is showing you scenes that aren't apart of the image God showed you (in the Bible)? I would suggest that you do the same thing that you would do in the movie theater. Do you get impatient? Maybe. Do you get up and leave? I hope not. You probably grin and bear it knowing that after a while the previews will subside and you'll hear "We now present to you the feature presentation." In life it would benefit us to do the same. Don't let a bad preview cause you to bail on the feature presentation. Stick it out and you just might see that it was well worth the wait.

Buyers Remorse

A few months ago I had the urge to turn away from my beloved Blackberry to find comfort in the arms of an HTC Hero. I used to love my Blackberry and cherish the moments where I could sit and play with the various apps or find something new about it's many features but somehow after having it for two years something about it just seemed...old. All of a sudden I was no longer impressed by how it would instantly allow me to receive my emails. It was no longer fascinating that it had a full featured qwerty keyboard that made text messaging a snap. I had lost the desire to enjoy all that it had to offer not because it was bad or because it no longer held value but because I just wanted something new and behold... In walks the shiny new HTC Hero. I'll be the first to say that things with the Hero started out great. I could change the scenes so that the screen was nicer to look at than my "old" Blackberry. I could set up the contacts so that I could see Facebook status updates right from the contacts rather than having to go through Facebook...my Blackberry never did that. Everything was going great until I realized that this Hero sure uses alot of power so I couldn't stay far from a charger for long. Then I also noticed that the touch screen that I had once marveled at had become a nuisance because it made text messaging a chore. All of a sudden what I thought would be a benefit had become a burden and I was experiencing a bad case of buyers remorse.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever just wanted a change? Have you ever just wanted to change jobs, cities, relationships, or spouses simply because what had once been intriguing has now become the norm. Let me suggest to you, before you make the change and possibly run into a steaming pile of buyers remorse, that what you need may not be a change in the sense that you think. What you may need is to simply change the way you see what you're seeking to exchange. Take my experience for instance; Had I looked at my Blackberry through the eyes of thankfulness I would never have given it up. It was never perfect but had I counted the many ways in which it enhanced my productivity and added to my ministry I probably would have hesitated to make the change. Oh well, there's no crying over spilled milk here. Once I realized that I had made a HUGE mistake I had my Blackberry repaired and returned with a new thankfulness for this old thing. I pray that you would do the same BEFORE you make an unnecessary change. Before you make a shift in your marriage, ministry, career, etc. count the cost and consider what you may be giving up in an effort to get ahead. You may discover that what you initially believed would bring relief would eventually have brought remorse.