today’s L3 reading is in Luke 7. one day Jesus was walking in the city of nain when he came across a funeral procession. a mother, who was also a widow, was about to bury her only son, thus leaving her destitute. the bible says Jesus stopped the procession and raised the young man to life with simply a word. the young man was given back to his mother and the crowd was amazed at His power and began glorifying God and the buzz meter went off the charts about Jesus. when i read that story, i think it would be incredible to have the faith and power to raise the dead. Jesus has something i don’t. but as i’ve meditated on that a bit, it seems i have two things Jesus didn’t have. i have pride and selfish ambition. if i had the power to raise the dead, i’m fearful that it would let it become more about me than Him. no doubt i would try to act humble and pretend that it was all for God. but the sick truth is pride would make it about me. the other thing i have that Jesus didn’t have is a lack of compassion. Jesus felt compassion for the widow and so he acted for her sake and for the glory of God. maybe the reason i don’t have what he had- the power to raise the dead- is because i do have what he didn’t. today i pray that God would grant me and grow me in compassion- a genuine love and care for others. i also pray for a breaking of my own pride. as john the baptist said, may He increase and i decrease.

my L3 (learn, live, lead) bible reading is proverbs 27 today and it contains several verses about friends. as i read, and then thought on the verses, i was both thankful for the friends i have and also inspired to be a better friend. here is what Solomon said about friends. 1) friends will wound you because they love you- v. 6. anybody can lie to you and tell you what you want to hear. but a real friend loves you enough to say the hard thing. it hurts to hear it and it’s hard to say it, but a true friend is willing to introduce temporary pain in a relationship for the longterm health of a friend. 2) friends are faithful and lean on each other in hard times- v. 10. hard times hit everybody, and in those downturns of life, you need a friend to lean on, cry on, vent on, and depend on to stick with you. i’ve heard a friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. i’m thankful for a few friends who have stuck with me through some seriously stupid moments in my life and some difficult and dark days. 3) friends are sensitive to each other- v. 14. solomon says if you bless your friend loudly early in the morning, he won’t like it. nobody wants to be roused out of sleep even with good news that is delivered too loudly. so as a friend, i need to be sensitive to others and the right timing of what i say. 4) friends sharpen each other- v. 17. friends should challenge and inspire each other to be better men and women. that certainly applies to our spiritual pursuit of Jesus on a daily basis, but it also has application in every pursuit of life. as a friend, i want to bring out the best in others and have them bring out the best for God’s glory in me.
if you took the time to read this, take some time now to think about and give thanks to God for your friends. then pray through these four characteristics of a friend and ask God to grow you in each aspect.

i said i wasn’t going to go see the new movie about the vampire and wolf-boy “in love” with the same girl, but in a moment of weakness i agreed to go. to me the movie is stupid- and i don’t get the debate between edward vs jacob. that’s an easy one. even in the world of make believe its not hard to choose between giving up your soul to be a dead vampire or staying alive and sticking with the white-toothed wolf-boy. but the reason i’m writing is because i did find one part of the story that actually made me want to yell out something positive in the movie. maybe it’s just because i’ve been preaching about sex and purity for 6 weeks, or because my 14 year old daughter was in the row in front of me sitting with a family “friend” but for whatever reason i truly wanted to just shout out- thank God! finally someone makes a choice that makes sense. the choice i’m talking about is when edward refused to give in to his girlfriends request for them to have sex before they are married. his “old school” values aren’t extolled very often, if ever, in the movies, but for once i think they got it right. i pray that more men will develop such conviction and lead toward purity in their real-world lives today.

i’m really excited about the new land we just purchased for our madison campus. it seems like it took forever and at times i was so impatient- especially when doors that looked like they were going to be open got slammed shut. but in His time, God has finally directed us to a great new home on 40 acres of land on Reunion Parkway. making this even sweeter is the fact that through the generosity of our pinelake family, the land is already paid for. in the coming months we will have special activities to dedicate the land and sanctify it for God’s purposes, as well as develop a master plan for the property. i have no idea how long it will be until we “inhabit” the land in a new building, but for now i’m just very excited about the land.

with new years day a little more than 24 hours away, you may be thinking about how to get your act together a little better in 2010. one of the ways most of us make some type of resolution or another is in the area of our finances. as i read through proverbs 28 recently, i noted four worthwhile resolutions for the new year when it comes to having a good financial year.
1) i will be honest when it comes to money. Proverbs 28:6- better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich. dishonesty may pay in the short run, but in the long run, it costs you more. honesty may not pay as quickly, but it always pays.
2)i will work hard. proverbs 28:19- he who tills his land will have plenty of food, but he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. i know its a lot more fun to play and have a good time than it is to work, but the scripture promises that work leads to plenty food and play to plenty of poverty. this year, evaluate how much playing you are doing and maybe cut back. at the same time think about how you might do something new at work to add income. 3) i will be faithful little by little. proverbs 28:20- a faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. another way of saying this is steady plodding leads to gain. don’t fall for the get rich quick trap and if a deal sounds too good to be true, guess what. instead, determine to save little by little each week and get yourself out of debt. that is an investment in yourself and puts you in a position of financial strength for the future. 4) i will be generous. proverbs 28:27- he who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses. this seems backwards or impossible, but God says if you give, you will have. and if you don’t give, not only will you not have, but you will have curses. that is upside down and makes no sense…unless it comes from God who gives us everything and who can take everything.
so there you have it- four biblical resolutions that could revolutionize your financial future in 2010.

Today is veteran’s day, a day we express gratitude to all the brave men and women who put their lives on the line so we can live our lives with the freedoms we enjoy. on the way to work this morning i passed a guy at a busy intersection in my community. he was standing by the road, wearing his army jacket and hat, and proudly holding a flag. i told my kids to yell out the window at him a great big, “thank you” and then explained to them that people like him make tremendous sacrifices that they as children, and i as an adult can’t even begin to fathom. in any other year, that might not be so much on my mind, but in light of the events in the last few days in texas, i’m just that much more aware that every day serving in the armed forces is a day in harms way. all that to say, i am thankful for those who serve and have served our country in the military. we never say it enough, but thanks.

sunday was a great day at the henderson house. we enjoyed an incredible day of worship, then went to one of our favorite places to eat for lunch with some good friends. after lunch, christy and i loaded up the girls and a couple of their friends and went to the country to play at the hunting camp. we played crazy games in the car on the ride down and did a little work and rode around and saw all kinds of wildlife at the camp. when we got home, we picked up regan- he spent the day playing with a buddy- got cleaned up and ready for bed and then regan told me something i will forever cherish. he said, i accepted Jesus in my heart today. he has always had a super sensitive spirit to spiritual things and has always loved God and believed in Jesus, but today it all came to a point of trust and faith in his life where his little eyes, heart, and life all opened to God’s incredible gift of Life through Christ. i can honestly say i’ve never been more proud of him and more thankful for God’s incredible goodness. my family is complete. we are a family in Christ. 3 John 4 is true- i have no greater joy. may God grow us in Him and may His grace abound to us all.

right now we are in the season of selecting new leaders at pinelake. as i think about leaders, here is the thought that God has laid on my heart: it’s better to be under staffed with great leaders than to be fully staffed with questionable leaders. i believe that is true in any organization that matters. you will never rise above your leaders. they can only teach what they know, lead where they go, and they reproduce what and who they are. great leaders lead to great movements and success. other leaders… don’t. the bottom line is protect the position of leadership.

for the past two days i’ve been struck by the worthiness of God the father and the son to receive my worship. i read in Ezekiel 16 today an incredible recounting of israel’s history. it is a graphic tale of how God took israel in as a mixed-race, unwanted, uncared for baby and nurtured her and lavished on her gifts and beauty. but as a young girl, she became unfaithful to Him, prostituting herself with anyone and every one. her sin was so bad, she made sodom look like a saint the bible says. God sent judgment and captivity because of her unfaithfulness, but then out of no where, God says, but i will be faithful and keep my covenant and forgive and restore you. what incredible grace.
then in Revelation 5 & 6, i see Jesus as worthy of worship too. Revelation 5:9-10- And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are You to tae the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. wow! the worthiness of Jesus who alone is worthy to take up God’s book and break it’s seals. men and angels are hopeless and helpless without Him. yet He purchased us for the Father, demonstrating not only His love for us, but more significantly His love of the Father! He gave all to give the Father the desire of His heart. now, because of His love of the Father, i am a kingdom, a priest, and will reign on earth- all undeserved and i could never imagine how blessed He has made me.
then in Revelation 6, i see the power of Jesus to unleash judgment on the earth, each seal revealing another layer of His power. so daunting is His judgment, that people beg to die- no one escapes His power and justice.
so all that leads me to say, God i worship You. You alone are worthy, much more worthy than i know. i cannot imagine just how glorious you are. i desire to bless You with all i am today.

well it’s been a while since i have written anything, but i know i need to. really, i don’t have anything to say today, but i just know i need to get back into writing so that when i have something to say i will be already in the habit of blogging. does that make sense? isn’t life like that sometimes? you don’t feel like doing something but you know you need to so you do it just to keep the discipline or practice. sometimes i think i need to just do things to keep in the practice of doing it. well, that’s about it. i’ll write again in a month or four. until then, all my blogging buddies can get off my back!