Distractions

Distractions, we have so many!

We have become so rich in this country that even the poor have more distractions than the rich of other countries. Everyone has a television, the Internet, and electronic gadgets to keep their minds distracted from the things that can give life purpose and meaning. Seriously…….. we need to ask ourselves as we watch television each night what are we doing? Are we desensitizing ourselves to accept the filth and violence as the way life should be? Do we really want to live life like that?

I found a great visual image written by A.W. Tozer of how real life should be seen and lived……

“Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God we do not see ourselves – riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him.”

Tozer is saying a lot in this paragraph. Not only does distractions keep us from seeing God the perfect One, but looking at ourselves keep us from seeing God as well. The thing Tozer most wants us to see is the part about our struggles to purify ourselves. This must be something many of us learn over time. I have struggled many years trying to change myself only to find repeated failure. I am in no way saying I’ve arrived at some kind of holier than thou place in life, but only that I’ve changed my focus on Christ instead of myself. I know now that the answer lies in gazing towards Him and not inward towards me.

When our minds and our hearts are filled by God’s love then we react to life in godly ways. This reacting is being done by God’s power, not ours. That is why it is so important to guard our eyes and minds from the things that are not decent and good.

God has made it easy for everyone, the weak, the strong, the poor, and the rich……. all can turn their gaze toward Him. God has shown Himself plainly in Christ. Look to Christ today and you will find the very things you have so longed for will be getting done within you. – Gary


PS: Don't forget Spring Training at Woodland Park this Saturday the 29th of March. Don Gordon will be speaking, and Peanut will be sharing the history of Bridgebuilders. Hank, I know you are smiling!

Checkout link for more info

http://www.woodlandpark.org/ministries/men/resources.asp

Dollywood is open again!

This blog is coming from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where we took the kids for a wonderful weekend getaway to Dollywood as the park opens again. They have made a few changes as you don't come in like you have in the past and of course the new ride, "Water Battle" was on full display.
http://www.dollywood.com/
First, Festival of Nations is going on and that is great to hear the music. The kids had a great time yesterday going to their favorite rides.
This place is neat and always family friendly. Here is the skinny: Pay attention to how to get here as it is different, not bad . Water Battle will be a huge, huge ride in the summer. There is no way not to get wet and it is well laid out. The girls will ride it last today.
Lots of fun stuff in the Ireland section and you can see with what has happened with the addition of the Mystery Mine coaster and Water Battle they are planning something else of the back of the property.
Gold Passes pay off on discounts. For drinks and about everything. If you have small children, Country Fair since being redone three years ago is a fun place. Always remember to go by the Grist Mill to get some fresh homemade cinnamon bread before you leave. Get two loaves as you will have eaten on the tram ride back to the car. Can you tell that has happened to us?
You may say Hank, you are spending alot of time promoting Dollywood. Well, it is a wonderful place for families to have a great day.

NCAA March Madness has begun and I was blessed last night in getting to watch the Duke/Belmont game as we got back to the room and most of the kids went with Patrice to the indoor pool. BTW, one of our favorite places to eat has moved into Pigeon Forge- Buddy's BBQ is now on the Parkway right past all the big Theatres coming into town on the left.
Wonderful food. We chowed down on BBQ and chicken last night. Sorry for Belmont. One play could have made that game and they didn't execute that throw in. Anytime you around Knoxville even down to Lenoir City you need to stop at Buddys.
http://www.buddysbarbq.com/index.html


Easter is here and that is most exciting, this whole week I have been excited just thinking about Christ. I haven't always had that on my mind. We have been doing the resurrection eggs with the kids this week and I am amazed at their bible knowledge. It makes my heart glow to hear them even add scriptures they know in their heart.

I have been traveling the past week to St. Petersburg and then back so have some links to some things that I will add this weekend. Will post some comments on Salvador Dali too after touring his museum in Florida. (One weird man).
Gary and I know we have several folks reading the blog and a special shout out to Sam Greer and Freeman Powell at Hickory Valley Christian Church. Freeman invited me to their monthly men's breakfast this month and it was excellent. These are some wonderful brothers in Christ. Working on making sure No Man is Left Behind.

http://www.hvcconline.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

May you have a wonderful Easter weekend taking in what Jesus Christ did for you and me. He is Risen!

What is Reality?

What is reality? The dictionary says, it’s “the state or the quality of being real”. So what is real? For those of us that believe in creationism and in the God of that creation……… the answer can be summed up in one word. Redemption!

God is redeeming everything in the world including us, and that is reality. Redemption is about fixing the broken. It’s about making something bad into something good. It all went bad when we went bad. We cracked the universe when we tried to remove the God that created it. But the good news is…….redemption is not judgment, it’s about mercy, and love.

It’s about the Gospel, the story of God sending His Son to die in our place, and giving us a new life in Christ. We do have a choice in the matter though, we can accept or reject this offer. For us that has accepted this redemption we are now part of God’s story. Since we have received mercy, we now in turn show mercy. Since we have received love, we now in turn show love.

But do we? Are we part of God’s redemptive plan? Are we trying to help the broken, or are we trying to get rid of the broken?

Is the Christian community thought of as people of love and mercy, or are we thought of as mean spirited and self righteous? Are we afraid of what people may think if we help the homosexuals, or heaven forbid…. befriend one? Do we help people we know at work that are struggling with problems, or do we just watch them self-destruct and eventually get fired?

There is a lot of buzz today about accountability. What is accountability? Is it about helping someone or is about being someone’s judge? If you are going hold me accountable, does that mean that when I mess up you’re going to tell everyone about it and then walk away saying, “I knew he would finally mess up, so the sooner he’s gone the better”. Is that how accountability works?

It seems that we are too quick to write people off. Loving them and helping them is just too messy……….

Reality is about “redemption” and the result of redemption is a heart of love and mercy. Helping others is never too messy for God. Jesus said, “they will know us by our love for one another” and let’s not forget, “blessed are the merciful”. - Gary

Excellence?

Excellence can be a troubling proposition for some of us, especially for those that are perfectionist. We can become very legalistic in our pursuit of excellence. Then on the other hand some of us are overwhelmed by the idea of excellence. We see it as something outside our reach. We can become legalistic and push too hard, or we can become passive and fail to even try.

I believe most of us mess up because we define the word excellence wrong. How would you define excellence? When I think of excellence I think of being perfect, but I think that’s an unhealthy definition for me or for anyone. How does the bible define “excellence”?

The bible does not use this word many times. In the NIV it’s only used 8 times. One place it’s used is where Paul is telling us to think on good things, things that are true, noble, and right. Then he says “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think on these things. The word excellent there means “moral goodness”. Moral goodness can be defined as “pure of heart”. I would like to be “pure of heart”! Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God”. Proverbs says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”.

In the sermon on the mount Jesus outlined a way of life that we would call Kingdom Living. As children of God we live in that Kingdom now, it’s not something we’ll find after we die. After we die we’ll just be able to see it better.

So as we live in this Kingdom we are to desire a life of “moral goodness”, but it’s not something we can strive to obtain. The power is not in us! God’s goodness only comes in trusting, not in achieving. We have no power in our own efforts, no more than we do in our own salvation. True repentance, God’s grace, and Trusting are the keys to “moral goodness” or being “pure of heart”, but that’s a subject for another day. - Gary