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!

i just got through describing why you need a love triangle.  if you haven’t read that entry, you probably need to do that for this to make sense.  but assuming (and i know how dangerous that is) you have your triangle complete, let me tell you a few benefits i see of keeping the love triangle alive in your love life.  

first, your pursuit of God brings transformation of your life that you need to be a better lover.  as you experience the love, grace, forgiveness, peace, patience, strength, joy, kindness, and blessing of God, you become a different person.  not only do you become a different person, but you become a better lover.  in any relationship, you can’t give what you don’t have.  but when you receive from God unconditional love, grace, forgiveness, etc, now you have something to share with the one you love.

second, your pursuit of God provides good boundaries for your relationship.  it’s like this.  my dog gracie wears a shock collar when she goes outside.  if she gets close to getting too far from the house and outside the safe zone, her collar beeps.  if she keeps going away from the house, the collar zaps her with an electric shock until she runs back close to the house.  God doesn’t put a collar around your neck (although it’s not a bad idea- ok maybe it is), but He does put His Spirit in your heart and the spirit warns us and even zaps us if we get outside of Christ-like behavior in the relationship.  the deal is i can’t walk with God and mistreat the person i love at the same time.  i can mistreat my wife, but i can’t walk with God and do that.  and if i try, His spirit brings conviction (the zap) either that i’m distant from Him or in disobedience to Him by the way i treat my girl. make sense? don’t answer that.

another benefit is that the triangle gives unity to my relationship.  if you and the one you love are both chasing God, you are chasing the same thing and are running together.  God isn’t a God of confusion or division, He is a God of unity and order.  translated, God won’t tell you one thing and your love another.  if your goal is God, and you both get to the goal, then by definition, you are going to come to the same place- agreement and unity.  that’s why paul told us not to get yoked up with someone who isn’t chasing God (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).  the best way to experience intimacy and closeness, is to agree that God is the goal of the relationship.  by the way, this means there is no such thing as an irreconcilable difference too. in Christ, we are always able to reconcile.

finally, the love triangle provides perspective on everything else in life.  stuff pulls at you daily- work, finances, friends, kids, hobbies- they all vie for your time, attention, and energy.  the tendency in life is to drift toward those things that make demands of you and you end up getting your priorities all out of whack and at the same time your love life loses it’s edge because your love isn’t a priority.  how do you keep from letting stuff come between you and your love?  easy, you just keep walking with God because He daily reminds you of what is most important- God first, spouse second, and then all the other stuff somewhere after that.

this might get a bit confusing, but stay with me.  if your love relationship is going to be any good, you need a love triangle.  yeah, that’s right, but i promise it’s probably not what you are thinking.  if i were tech savvy i would draw this, but since i’m not either you have to imagine it or draw it yourself.  on a piece of paper, draw yourself (stick people work, they make you look skinnier too) and then on the opposite side of the page, draw a stick person that represents the person you are in love with.  then draw a straight line from you to them (in my drawing usually that line is 6″-8″).  now in your love life, the goal of your relationship is to make this distance as short as possible, right?  ie, you want to get as close as you can.  so how do you do that?  people try all kinds of ways to get and stay close, but here is the best way and the only way that works long term- you have to add God to the mix.  above your stick couple and in the middle of the line connecting you two, write God (you can’t draw Him b/c nobody knows what He looks like).  now draw a line from you to God and a line from the one you love to God.  the picture in front of you should be a triangle- you and your love on the bottom angles and God at the top of the pyramid.  now here is why you need this love triangle.  you need God in your life and your goal in life, even above your relationship with the person you love, should be to walk as closely with God as possible.  you need to pursue God.  you need to read the Bible, pray, worship, live, all the spiritual disciplines and everything in your life should be aimed at God. now on your triangle, draw another stick you on the line connected to God, but a lot closer to God than the first stick you (that’s called spiritual growth).  as you chase God, you get closer to Him.  at the same time, suppose the person you love does the same thing- they too go all out for God, chasing hard after Him and over time, they too move up their line of connection to God and become much closer to Him. draw a new stick them closer to God like the new stick you.  now draw a new line between the two new stick people that have gotten closer to God.  what happens to the distance between the two of you as you chase God and get closer to Him?  that’s right, you get drawn closer together.  now you see why you need a love triangle. if you really want to experience lasting love, the best way to do it is to chase after God and let Him draw you together.

in matthew 15, the religious leaders got bent at Jesus because His disciples didn’t wash their hands before they ate- thus breaking the tradition of the elders.  Jesus called the crowd of people together and said it’s not what enters your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out of your mouth that does.  later (matthew 15:15), peter asked Jesus to explain what that meant.  so Jesus broke it off like this.  ”Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?  but the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.  for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.  these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

so many times i think we still fall into that trap of focusing on the externals while ignoring the real issue- our heart.  we want to make sure that nobody goes to the wrong place or drinks the wrong thing, or doesn’t do this or does do that.  and i get that we have to be conspicuous in the way we live- holy even.  but Jesus just seemed to care about a whole different set of stuff and degree of “rightness” than we do.  somehow i don’t think He got tore up over the stuff we get bent about.  He fixated on the internal stuff- thoughts, passions, attitudes.  more directly, He’s interested in my thoughts, my passions, my attitudes… and yours too.  the external stuff, He said, doesn’t defile us and make us unclean.  but the mess i tolerate in my mind, the hate i let linger in my heart, the selfishness in my spirit, that stuff keeps me from the purity He desires in me.  i’m reminded of what david wrote in psalm 139- God sees it all- he knows my thoughts and my words- even before i speak them.  so at the end of the psalm david asked God to search him and try him to see if there was “any hurtful way IN me.”  maybe that’s really what i need to be striving for too.  i can have my outer man in complete conformity with all religious expectations and still be far from God because of what i hold in my heart.  but if my heart is completely given to God and pure, then it doesn’t matter what anybody else says about my outside.  

i think this is a word for the church today.  what is it that we are really concerned about- making sure people “behave” or trying to help people love God from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith?