Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. (11) he has made everything beautiful in its time. (12) I know tht nothing is better for them than to rejoice and to do good in their lives.  (13) and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor, it is a gift of God.

If you have been in the church for any amount of time you have probably heard a sermon preached from this passage of scripture.  I have probably read this chapter in Ecclesiastes a thousand times and I know I have quoted it to others even more than that.  But I can tell you without a doubt, I am truly living this chapter at this time in my life.  God has done some amazing things in my life and I don’t know if I give Him enough credit for it. 

Just like the weather, there are four different seasons that we all will go through in this journey of life.  They are not predictable, preventable or sustainable forever.  That is why I believe Solomon ends the chapter with, “everyone should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor.” 

I don’t know what season of life you may find yourself in today, but I do know this God is an awesome God, no matter what season you are in.  Although I am currently enjoying this season of summer in my life professionally, personally, financially and spiritually; God did not design life to be lived always from the mountain top.  God allows us mountain top experiences to give us a break from the valley.  So if you’re like me and currently experiencing the season of summer, Praise God with all that you have, because the day will come when you will be back in the valley.  If you are in the valley, praise God as well, but hold on knowing that one day you will be on the mountain top.

This morning I was traveling on the Dulles Toll Road into DC; which cost me $10 round trip! Don’t even get me started on that:) Out of the blue an unmarked police car came rolling up on my rear.  I made sure to slow my speed down to an acceptable level. (stop judging me, read last weeks blog!) My heart sank when the officer put his lights and siren on.  I moved over to the side of the road and to my surprise he kept on going and pulled over the car in front of me.  Praise the Lord!  Then I made sure to check the speed limit sign and noticed it was only 55 mph.  I have been traveling on this highway for two months now and never even took time to notice the speed signs.

Many of us are like this when it comes to our lives.  We are just speeding along doing our thing and never take the time to notice the obvious signs warning us to slow down.  I have a friend that is on a road of distruction right now. The warning signs are clear, but he can’t or worse yet won’t, take the time to heed the warnings. 

Ephesians 5:15 says, be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise. (v.17) goes on to say, Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Now just because we understand what the will of the Lord is, doesn’t keep us from being foolish.  I can know the will of God for my life, but if I am not careful, I can miss the signs that will steer me in the right direction.  So how do we keep ourselves alert?

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  If we keep our eyes on Jesus we won’t miss the signs that will help to keep us on the right track.

Do you agree that all of us naturally judge the people we come into contact with on a daily basis?  From the moment our eyes lock onto an individual, we are forming our own opinions about that person.  Sometimes those judgments are good, other times they are not so good.  What determines what we think about people?  I believe it first starts with visual stimuli; race, hair color, clothing etc..  Then usually our judgments are confirmed or debunked based on the persons speech.  Would you agree? 

Now here is the crazy thing, although we all admit to judging people most of us hate to be judged by others. You can hear it from a mile away, “Don’t judge me!”  The word judge simply means, to form an opinion about.  Of course we don’t mind when someone has a positve opinion of us, do we?  As a matter of fact, we even crave after compliments from others.   But when the opinion of us is not as favorable, then we tend to get all bent out of shape.

Such was the case with a coach that I know.  One of his former colleagues voiced his opinion of the coach and it was not favorable.  When the coach learned of the opinion of the other coach, he was not happy. Now others have  jumped on the bandwagon and are saying, “he has no right to judge him!”  Someone else said, ”Isn’t that coach a Christian?  Doesn’t it say in the bible not to judge?”  Why is it non-believers only quote the bible when they are putting down a believer?

Now the one fellow was right in his assesment of what the bible says.  Matthew 7:1 Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  But then author who is Jesus, goes on to say “watch out for false prophets.” (v.15)  “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (v.16)  Question, how do I know if someone is a false prophet?  By judging or forming an opinion about the fruit they are producing.  That’s why Jesus follows the thought with this statement, “thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (v.20)

What my coaching friend as well as the rest of us need to realize, is everyone we meet judges us.  From the time we leave the house in the morning to the time we lay our heads down at night, people are forming opinions based on a couple of things; the kind of life you live and the kind of words you use.  For the coach who didn’t want to be judged, the only reason any of this came up is because of the words he was saying.  So in a sense, the judgement came from is own mouth.

Proverbs 4:24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.  Why?  Because people are judging you based not only on the life you live, but the words you speak also.

The Davis’ are offical residents of Virginia now.  Why does it take a move to realize just how much junk you have? One of our movers name was Jack.  Jack has been in the moving business for 20 years.  I have never seen anyone carry boxes on their back like this.  Looking at Jack carrying the weight of our personal stuff gave me a sermon illustration.  This is how many of us go through life.  We carry the weight of the world on our backs, not realizing that its not ours to carry.

My man Jack knew that the weight that was on his back wasn’t his, but mine.  He also had plans to put that stuff down at some point.  Now let me ask you a question, what are you carrying on your back that’s not yours?  What sinful habits are you struggling to put down?  What past failures are you holding onto? 

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins.  He did this so that we could be free from the guilt and the burden of our sin.  All we have to do is learn to lay our sins down at the foot of the cross, so that we can be truly free.

How do we do this?  We need a C.A.S.T

Confess all sin.

Ask for forgiveness

Submit to God.

Trust in Him daily.

If we do this we won’t allow junk to accumulate in our lives.

Yesterday I had dinner with one of my co-workers at Chipotle. Since, I was in line in front of him, I ordered my meal, paid and then found us a table.  After I sat down I turned and noticed that my friend had paid for the meal of the young man that was behind him.  Now he had no idea that I saw him do that.  As a matter of fact, once he sat down he didn’t even mention anything about the young man.  In that moment, my admiration grew even more for this man who has become a true friend and encourager in my life.

This morning I read an article about Billionaire, Warren Buffett who together with Billionaire, Bill Gates has started an initiative called giving pledge. They have asked other weathly individuals to join them in their pledge to give away most of their wealth by the time they die. You can view this list if you go to givingpledge.org  Many have joined these generours individuals in their efforts to give back for all the blessings they have received. (Although they didn’t word it that way) The theme of the organization is “Shrouds don’t have pockets.” A shroud is a burial cloth if you didn’t know.  Don’t laugh I didn’t know either!

Now I don’t know what motivated Warren Buffett and others like him to make the decision to give away half their riches, but I do know what motivated my friend to buy the dinner of a man he didn’t know. My friends motivation was sheer love. See he has been so loved by God that he has a heart to share that love with the world. How do I know that, because Jesus said, “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father who sees what is done is secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4

What Warren and the billionaire boys have decided to do is impressive, but not as impressive as my friend who gave simply because the love of God grips his heart and has motivated him to be generous. Now you might say, that meal only costs $10, what they are giving is way more.  I don’t believe God is as concerned about the amount as He is the motivations behind the gift.

I have a friend that has been going through the fire lately.  His marriage is on the rocks, he lost his job earlier this year and the financial pressures are mounting.  I have been praying for him that God would open a door so he can provide for his family.  Well the other day we were talking and he told me some great news.  He said that his old employer wanted to hire him back.  I said “Praise God.”  Then he said, “but he can only hire me part time.”  To which I replied, “well that is still a step in the right direction.”  Then the next thing he said just blew my mind.  He said, “yea I don’t know what to do.”  What do you mean, you don’t know what to do?  “Well, I am getting unemployment and that is $350 a week, my job part time is only $300 a week.  By the time I pay for gas, I might as well just stay unemployed and wait until he is ready to hire me full-time.”

What! Your kidding me right?  I hung up the phone and I couldn’t believe what he just said.  I really wanted to rebuke my friend becasue, the bible is clear on this issue. 1 Thessalonians 3:10 If a man will not work, he shall not eat.  Paul goes on to say in (v.11) “We hear that some among you are idle, they are not busy, they are busybodies.” 

When we are idle, the the devil can creep in and tempt us to do things that we should not be doing.  We have been commanded since the beginning of time to work.  Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  I didn’t rebuke my friend when he told me that he was considering staying home and collecting unemployement, I simply told him that I would be praying for him to make the right decision.  The very next day my friend called me and said he was taking the job.

 Here is the main point of this whole thing.  I wanted so bad to rebuke him for being lazy.  I even began to look down on him as if he was more of a sinner than I am.  I was also tempted to gossip and tell someone else, do you know what so and so told me.  But instead, by the grace of God, I just prayed that the Holy Spirit would convict him and guide him to make the proper decision.  And guess what, He did.  Too often we forget that the Holy Spirit can do a far better job of convicting than we can.  We also have a tendency to look down on others that struggle in areas that we do not.  So let this be a lesson to us all, “if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12) 

I have been somewhat following the Mel Gibson drama that has been unfolding over the last couple of weeks.  As I was flying back to DC this weekend on Jetblue airlines, I turned on the TV to Entertainment Tonight, yes I watch it every now and again….deal with it. ET has uncovered yet another tapped conversation of Mel going into a profanity laced tirade.  What’s up with that?  I mean seriously, does anyone know what is going on with Mel Gibson?  Here is a man who produced one of the best Christian films in history, The Passion of the Christ, only to be caught doing some un-christ like things.  I mean seriously, “What’s up with that!”

Well yesterday I was reading Exodus 32.  This is the chapter that deals with the children of Isreal and the golden calf incident.  If you are not familar, Moses goes up on Mt. Sinai to meet with God and Aaron is left with the people of God.  They start to get restless because Moses is taking too long and so they ask Aaron to make them another god that will help them.  And Aaron, who should have known better, actually does it.  He tells them to break off their gold and he fashioned together a molded calf.  Then says to them, “This is your god, O Isreal that brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (v.4)

When Moses comes down from the mountain the bible says he was angry and he asks Aaron, ”What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”  Essentially he said, ”hey Aaron, what’s up with that?”  What were you thinking?  That is my question to Mel Gibson, what are you thinking? 

But then I realize, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)  We all are sinners saved by grace.  I don’t know what is going on in Mels life, but I pray that he will get it right before it ends up costing him a whole lot more than he is wanting to pay.   That is what sin does to our life.  It takes us down roads we never imagined we would be traveling on.  I’m sure Mel never thought he would be in the position he is in right now.  Let his actions serve as a wake up call to us all, we can easily be lead estray if we are not on guard. 

Finally, lets look at Moses response to the golden calf.  (v.20) He took it, burned it, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the people drink it.  Or in other words, he destroyed it.  What ever is causing Mel to act the way that he is, I pray he will identify and destroy it. 

What about you?  Is there something in your life that would cause others around you to say, What’s up with that?  If so, you too need to identify and destroy it, so that you can be free to become all that God has designed your life to be.

I have a friend who is struggling with some real life altering decisions.  We have been praying through some of these decisions for almost a year now.  Recently we talked and he told me that he was still unsure of what God’s perfect will is for his life.  I encouraged him with the following words that really helped me when it came to making some life altering decisions of my own, just two short months ago.

Leadership guru, John Maxwell says, “If you want to reach your God-given potential and fullfil your God-given destiny, then sometimes you have to run away from security and chase after uncertainty.”  Many of us don’t experience breakthroughs in our lives, because we refuse to move out of our comfort zone.  We are afraid to step out into the unknown and risk making a mistake.

I often quote to myself Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Now, my friend is one of the most Godly men that I know, so I believe he is delighting himself in the Lord, but he still feels there is no clear direction from God.  A couple months ago, I felt as if I was delighting myself in the Lord, but I also didn’t have any clear direction from God as to which road I should choose.

Maybe lately you have found yourself at a similar place and so you can totally identify with these words and now you are wondering what to do.  My answer to you is the same as it was to my friend, “its time to get off the fence and make a decision already!”  I can tell you this, when I made the decision to take my new job, I didn’t have a clear word from God that it was the right or wrong thing to do.  There were just as many negatives as there were positives.  It wasn’t until after I made the decision and started the job, that I knew I had made the right decision.

After making the decision, I held on to Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  I believed with all my heart that if I was making the wrong decision, that God was more than able to turn it around for my good and His glory. So JUMP already!!!!

I will leave you with one last thought.  Someone told me once, “the greatest breakthroughs happen when you push through the fear.”  He went on to say, “all defining moments generally tend to also be some of the scariest moments of our lives.”

May God bless you as you are obedient to His word, His will and His way.

Sorry this blog is a couple of days late.  Now that I am working in DC, my already busy life has gotten even busier.  This weekend Yannette and I celebrated ten years of marriage.  She deserved my undivided attention as we talked, prayed and cried through memories of our lives together.  So I am just now getting the chance to sit and write. 

Some of our closest friends came to our house last night to help us celebrate our anniversary.  One of our friends gave a toast and said that Yannette and I are an inspiration to her for what a marriage should be.  Now I don’t say that to brag, I tell you because it got me to thinking on the plane ride back to DC what my marital legacy will be?  What do my two daughters see when they look at our marriage?  Are we setting a good example for our children to follow?  When they look at their dad do they see the kind of man that they one day hope to marry?

If you are married, have you ever thought about what your marital legacy will be?  If you are not married, what kind of legacy did your parents leave for you?  Yannette and I both come from a long line of broken marriages and unkept promises.  So we have not been given a good foundation on which to build.  In spite of that fact, we are committed to being first generational legacy builders.  My prayer is that the legacy we pass on will be marked by three main things. 

1. Friendship.  Yannette is my best freind. We laugh, love, cry and fight together.  We share our hearts, dreams, hopes and fears.  We know the best and worst of each other and at the end of the day we both wouldn’t want to be with anyone else in the world.  We really don’t understand those folks who don’t like to be around their spouses, because we truly enjoy each others company.  I pray that is what our girls see.

2. Faithfulness.  I often joke with Yannette because she has what I call an “overwhelming sense of fairness.”  She totally believes in an eye for an eye, so you better watch out if you cross her!  But seriously, she is the most faithful person I know.  The number one thing that she expects from those closest to her is loyalty.  It is my hearts desire to leave a legacy of marital faitfulness.  

3. Fidelity.   This probably should have been number one on the list, because if you don’t have trust, you can’t make a marriage work.  Yannette has my entire heart.  I can remember the day we met, I started out attracted to her, then she won my affection and now she has all of me.  While I did not have the honor of presenting myself pure physically to her, I can tell you that she is the first and only woman to have all of me.  I pray that my girls one day will say to their husbands you are the only man to have all of me, mentally, physically and emotionally.

These are the building blocks that I hope will mark our marriage and will be passed on to my girls.  I pray these same values will be part of the mark of your marriage as well.

Many will be celebrating Independence Day this weekend.  I find it interesting that this week the story broke about the Russian Spy scandal in the United States.  If you are not familiar the government has just uncovered a group of Russian spies living in America.  Exactly what they were planning is unclear, however what is clear is that they are not loyal to America.  They are here enjoying the freedoms of living in our country, but are in no way thankful for those freedoms.

Similarly, the children of Israel were in danger of falling victim to the same mentality.  God had raised up Moses to escort the people out of Eygpt to the land of Canaan.  However they had to go through the wilderness first.  Why? Deuteronomy 8:2 says, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 

After going through the wilderness for 40 yrs, the people were entering into the promise land and God had one message for them.  (v.11) Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments.  God knew that when times are difficult, then many will turn to the Lord, because you have no where else to go.  But when times are good it is easy to forget the Lord and become self-sufficient.  When this happens we begin to take things for granted. 

This Independence Day lets make sure that we are not taking for granted the fact that we live in a country that provides us with certain freedoms that others don’t enjoy.  But more importantly we must understand, that no freedom is as worthy of praise as the freedom that we receive through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins so that we can be free from the penalty and bondage of sin!