God never takes a nap!

You're in it! A storm in life; you're drowning and it seems like no one notices or even cares. You gasping for relief, you're lonely, you're stuck and don't seem to me moving, you lost all hope. Then the question comes to your mind where is God? I don't see Him! I don't feel Him! Is He even there?

I was reading the other day from the book of Psalm. In there I came across an amazing verse that said God does not sleep! (Psalm 121:3) That's amazing, He is always available, right? But yet in the middle of our storms we look for Him and it's like He isn't there. Maybe He is asleep...Maybe He spending time with my pastor...Or maybe that guy who prays like 5 times a day is keeping God preoccupied...

All valid thoughts; but yet all thoughts are invalid truths about God! God does not take naps. He doesn't get preoccupied. He is with you through your storms. How do I know this? Well, from the Bible of course; you know, the Sunday School answer. But at the same time because I have gone through storms in my life. Now when I go through them, many times I don't see Him. Not sure exactly why at times, it could be that I am in a pity party or maybe the storm is so bad my eyes are closed waiting for the storm to lift. Whatever the reason is; I still know God was with me during the storms! HOW? When I get out on the peaceful waters and look back at my time in the storm. I see Him! He is working in and through my life. He sent people along to encourage me at the right times. He sheltered me from getting permanently lost in my storm. He helped me overcome the storm. He made me stronger. I am where I am because He loved me.

If you are a Jesus follower; you have that hope when Jesus said I will neither leave you or forsake you. If you are not a follower; He is waiting with open arms for you to turn around and accept Him! He has been there the whole time, asking you to give your life to Him, but for whatever reason you wanted to live life on your own terms. You wanted to be the king of you life. But He is right there waiting for you to say His name, waiting to be part of your life! God never naps, He is alive and relevant in the life of the believer and waiting to be alive and relevant in the life of the unbeliever!

God's Unconditional Love

God's unconditional love is represented all throughout the Bible! Tonight, in the Underground, we looked at just one example of it. Genesis 15 opens with God appearing to Abram in a vision. Abram goes back and forth with God on the original promise God gave Abram. God takes Abram outside and shows him the stars; and confirms that he would be the father of many people. Abram believed and it was credited it to him as righteousness!

God asked him to gather some animals (a heifer, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon). Abram split the animals (not the birds) in two and laid them out opposite of each other. During this part of the message; I pulled out a few stuffed animals. To be exact; a cow, a lamb, and a cat. I took a butcher knife and split the stuffed animals in halves and laid them out in front of the students! Gory, I know.

I went on to explain the importance of this covenant among the people of Abram's day. They would take animals, split them in two, and both parties would walk through the animals. This was a strong symbol that was saying; "If either party breaks their agreement; let myself be like these animals." What a way to make a covenant! In today's times; our promises, vows, and agreements are not taken so serious. In marriage, it is not "till death do us apart"; it is "till we grow apart, and I want a divorce." 

Abram watches as God walks through the animals and fulfills the covenant without Abram ever walking through. This is God showing that He will fulfill His commitment to Abram; no matter what Abram does or doesn't do. It was the same way for us. God sent His son to be pierced and die for us. He restored the relationship between man and Him; giving us the opportunity for Salvation! We can receive this; no matter what we do or don't do. Nothing changed the agreement between God and Abram; as nothing will change the commitment of Salvation God gave us through the death of His Son. God's unconditional love is so amazing!

God is an Unpredictable God!

At our human core, we love things to be predictable! I personally love when professors are predictable, because I was able to narrow my studying come test time. It gave me a one-up on the test knowing that he or she does their test in the same way each time. When we sit on a chair, we want it to stand our weight and not break. It's a plus when it is a recliner and it has been a long day of work, we want to sit down in the most comfortable chair ever! Sometimes chairs give, we break them, we get embarrassed, people laugh; we all would agree that in this case we like the predictability of a chair doing what it was designed to do. Think about your favorite food or drink; it would be a sad day if you sunk your teeth into a rotten food or spoiled drink! It would most likely ruin your day; and for some might ruin their favorite food or drink.

In fact we like to live a comfortable life. We don't like when life sends us a curveball. Granted, life is full of curveballs and unpredictable events. Parents divorce, people die (even people that are younger than us that have so much life to live), he or she breaks your heart, your senior year of football begins with a broken leg, etc. Life is so unpredictable!

With this you’d think it would be great to have a God that is predictable...Right?

God fixed your friends parents divorce; and you know that He would do the same for your parents. Yeah, you broke your leg; but God is going to bring that college recruit into your life over the summer. He sits down with and opens up your life's map; and points to all the places He will take you from your birth to death. BUT that is not God, He is unpredictable. He works in different ways for different people; and at times we won't understand why He does things.

Now to note: God is predictable in some ways of His character. He is a God of love and He will love you. He is a God of justice and mercy. If He makes a promise; it is like a check that we can take to the bank to cash. Though, He doesn't just fit in a box. Into a mold that we make for Him; He is an unpredictable God in His greatness. 

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 145:3

Who God is? We will never even get close to understanding how great he is and how much he can impact our lives!

God will work in and through you!

God can make you a better person!

God can make you feel complete!

God will never leave you!

How He does this is different for people, but He still does it!

 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Psalm 115:3

In Jeremiah 18; He takes Jeremiah to a potter's house. He teaches that in the same way clay is in the potter's hand; that His people are in His hand. Sometimes a potter has to remold and fix his project. Sometimes he has to start back at the beginning to get what he wants. Sometimes the potter makes a bowl, other times a cup or a plate. 

Same with thing with us! Sometimes God has to break us down to get us moldable to what He wants.

Sometimes He has to start at the beginning. God makes us different as well; some of us are like cups while others are like bowls and yet some like plates. All of these serve a purpose in the kitchen and all of God's people serve a purpose in His kingdom!

God is unpredictable! We will never know where he will plant us. We will never know where he will take us! We will never know why He does for some; while not doing the same for others. We will not always understand Him and His methods. We will never grasp the fullness of His love and greatness. BUT I am okay with that and you need to be too!

First NFL Game Experience at Lambeau Field!

It took me a little longer to blog about this than I thought it would. I mean first NFL game! And it was a playoff game! It was at Lambeau Field! They were predicting it to be the second coldest game in NFL history; -19 with a windchill of -35 or so... It took me four seasons to land a ticket and with the threat of the cold, packer fans did not buy them up! I was able to get a ticket on the second row in the corner of the end zone, yes, in Lambeau Leap Zone! What an amazing opportunity!

The story: My wife dropped me off at the stadium. I was layered like the marshmallow man; at least that is how I felt. Anytime in the game I would have been ready to play, because I had enough padded protection to take a hit from BJ Raji! I got to my seat early and the guys on the first row let me stand in their section; so that I could watch all the warm ups and pre-game action on the field. As the game was about to start, I realized I would be pretty warm; because we were packed in tighter than sardines in a can! In fact for most of the first quarter, my guy on the right and the guy on the left were shoulder to shoulder. Yep, that left me standing behind them looking over their shoulders. By the end of the quarter I had weaseled my way in front of them in our row; and held my position for the remainder of the game. I left my seat once at halftime, to go find a place where I could sit and take my boots off. I took quite a few hand warmers and crammed them in my boots; before putting them back on and heading back to my seat. Now my toes could unthaw and be warm for the second half of the game!

The game was amazing! The fan environment was awesome! I made a lot of friends and created a lot of memories. The game was super close till the end, and it was definitely a nail biter. Unfortunately, the Packers lost game on a 49'ers last second field goal. Yes, disappointing way to end the game; but it will go down as a story that I will talk about for years to come. (oh and I can't wait to watch the game on the television; because I was able to spot me during the Fox Sports highlights of one of the 49er's touchdown celebrations!)

A connection on Sunday...Tom Brady to the Rich Young Ruler

Last night Mike Williams led us in conversation about the rich man in Matthew 19. I got excited because earlier in the day my wife and I had a similar conversation about Tom Brady. A couple of years ago Tom Brady shared some things about life on 60 Minutes. At the age of 30 then: he won 3 Super Bowls, won a few MVPs, 60 million dollar ten year contract (to which he responded "I'm making more money than I ever thought I could make playing football")

With all of this fame, popularity and money; he responded in his interview:“Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be … I love playing football and I love being quarterback for this team. But at the same time, I think there are a lot of other parts about me that I’m trying to find.” When I saw this interview, I was like jumping up and down; yelling you are missing out on a relationship with God. He is what there is to life, He determines life, He is life! Brady you are right there...

Now back to Matthew 19! The young rich ruler approaches Jesus and says; “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Jesus asks if he keeps the commandments, to which he responds yes. Jesus asks him to sell all that he had; and fully commit to following Jesus. The man walks away...because he had great wealth.

Tom Brady and this rich young man were at like the same place in their lives. They had it all! The fame, the popularity, leadership, money, etc. but they missed what they really need and that is Jesus!

When looking at the phrase that the young rich ruler says to Jesus; one word pops out at me. What is it? It's the word I. What must I do? There is nothing that I can do! It is what He can do! I am convinced that this passage encouraged the people that day that a rich man can't buy his way into eternity! I am convinced that Jesus pushed the point not that it's wrong to be rich; but that we cannot do anything to get eternity; we need Him for that! Tom Brady can reach the top of what we might say a person can do; he can even give all his money away; but if he doesn't choose to accept Jesus then he will always have a gaping hole in his heart! He will feel like there has to be something more.

Good news for Tom Brady is that just like the young rich ruler; we don't know if there might be life change down the road. Who knows maybe that young rich ruler came to Jesus; and maybe Tom Brady will get to that point in his life. And just maybe his next 60 Minutes interview; will be slightly different...

Recap of Top 25 Adventures and Life Stories of 2012

25. My favorite dish that I have made this year is Parmesan Chicken Squares! I have passed the recipe out to many people because it tastes amazing, cheap to make, and one of the easiest dinners you can prepare

24. For Valentine’s Day; we had a special date night of dinner, a movie, and chocolate! The dinner was at Prime Quarter, where you have the privilege of grilling your own food inside on their giant hickory charcoal grills. This was a great experience, even though all we did was make our own Texas toast and had the chef grill our steaks

23. My bachelor party was fun. We ordered one hundred wings from Buffalo Wild Wings and had a blast of laser tag, mini bowling, and arcade games at Funset Blvd

22. Dressing up like Peter Venkman from the Ghostbusters. I took a pile of junk and made my own proton pack. I actually had more fun creating my costume, than actually wearing it

21. Next to Hershey Chocolate Land, M&M World is my next best chocolate adventure!

20. Knocked another MLB ballpark off my list. We took the teenagers to Miller Park to watch the Brewers play the Pirates. They were happy because my Pirates got beat in the ninth inning with a walk-off by Corey Hart

19. Every month, I buy my wife a gerber daisy on the 5th which is our wedding date. Something I have vowed to do before I got married, to show my love and to reflect monthly on our marriage

18. During Christmas break, we shot stuff with a .380! First time shooting a hand gun over a .22. I couldn’t hear anything the rest of the evening...

17. I ate fried frog legs! What an experience, one I might not do again

16. Of all the concerts I have been at, I have never caught a guitar pick or a drum stick. In some cases, I have been really close; but it was still something I needed to scratch off my list of things to do. This year at Power of One, I caught a drumstick in midair. Most likely all that basketball playing, helped with my height and I timed it perfectly to out jump those taller than me. A little later, I picked up a guitar pick. Both are hanging in our youth room

15. Billy Graham Crusade decided to choose Green Bay as one of three locations to put on their Rock the Lakes event. I was part of it from the beginning, by attending meeting and training after meeting and training. I got on board in March, the event took place in August, and there was a time period of involvement following the event. It was a learning experience for me; I learned some great organization and creative approaches, and some negative things as well. Over all the experience grew my leadership and my ministry understanding of reaching out to a community

14. My upper ball joints and tie rods were pretty bad on my car. In fact, every time I turned a corner I could hear a pop and both tires had a lot of wiggle room. Not wanting a tire to fall off and not wanting to pay a few thousand dollars; I got under the car and did my own repairing. When I was done my car had two new upper ball joints, two new tie rods, two new break pads, two new strut bar bolts, oil head gasket, an oil change and saved a lot of money

13. When I was in high school; I shot my youth pastor in the neck with a paintball gun. Ten years later, I got to feel the pain of being on the receiving side of getting shot in the neck. Granted, my experience was friendly fire, at the beginning of the game, and from five feet away. With yellow paint and blood running down my neck, the referee allowed me back out on the field only to get shot by the enemy a few minutes later

12. I always wanted to be part of a flash mob, granted; I didn’t think it would be one that required me to sing. It still was a fun opportunity of being part of a flash mob that sang Christmas carols in the food court of a mall

11. Visited Lambert’s Cafe, home to the “throwed rolls.” The place became famous through many things, but the one that sticks out the most is throwed rolls. When the owner couldn’t get a roll to a customer, the customer told him just to to throw it, and the legend grew. Today, a worker comes out and yells “Hot Rolls”; then throws them to raised hands at the tables. Rob Tate and I created a game plan before going in. He video taped while I put on a baseball glove. I raised the glove, the guy loved it, and hit me up for a long toss over a few tables. What an experience!

10. Amber took me on our first overnight adventure as a married couple to House on the Rock. We explored Japanese gardens; rooms filled with dolls, guns, and mechanical musical instruments; and the World's Largest Carousel

9. Sat through my first time share speech. It only took two long hours of our time, did I mention long...We resisted buying in, ate a free breakfast, and was given seventy-five dollars in cash for outlet shopping later that day

8. Ate and played at the Most Unique McDonalds in the world! You can eat unhealthy, Big Mac or healthy, Veggie Pita. Play mini bowling, Deal or no Deal, or one of the many arcade games

7. Snorkeling with tropical fish and rays was amazing. One of the biggest rays swam right under me, just his tail was longer than me! Simply beautiful creatures, I’m glad we took along water cameras for our adventure

6. I was able to see my four closest friends for the weekend of my wedding! Thanks guys (Rodney, Jeff , Matt, and Sam) for being part of my big day

5. With marriage, I inherited wonderful in-laws and family

4. I was asked to preach five times on Sunday mornings. Each message has stretched me, and has strengthened me in preparation of a sermon, communication, and leadership. Also developing a more seriousness of delivery God’s Word in and through the Holy Spirit direction! (Here are the messages: “Being Available” - I Samuel 14 “Come Die” - Luke 9:21-26 “God Has Power Over Sin” - John 19:31-20:20 “A Loaf of Bread” - Mark 8:14-21 “Living Life as a True Disciple” - I Kings 19:19-21)

3. Swam with the dolphins! This might just be one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life. Not only that; I kissed one too...

2. Married the most beautiful, loving, passionate, caring woman on May 5th! Starting a life long journey, friendship, partnership, and exciting adventures of my life. Look forward to every moment I spend with her, and love her more today than when we first said “I do.”

1. One more year of investing in a relationship with Jesus Christ