Alright - I know it’s been a while - Ok - more than a while (you may have thought I had passed on with how long it’s been), but as I promised recently to some of you, I have decided to update my posts and I will try to become a little more timely in the future.  So with out further delay I wanted to dive into the all too familiar topic of Potential.

The following thoughts actually hit me several springs ago and since we are only a few days away from spring now I thought I’d pull out this piece and relay it.  One spring night I was sitting around our little backyard fire pit entertaining friends and as the night was enclosing and the fire was fading these thoughts came to mind.  I hope you will understand what I am trying to say.

When looking at a fire and watching the burning of the wood, I am amazed a how little ash remains of the once great chunk of wood it started out to be.  Then I think of how before that wood was burned, it possessed outstanding potential.  That wood could have been used for so many useful things like a doorway, vase, bowl, picture frame, lumber for a house or even some paper for writing on.  However, what was the fate of this simple piece of wood?  To be spent in a fire in the middle of Spring not simply for heat as if in the dead of Winter for even that would have had it’s productive use.  No, this fire was only capitalized for its entertaining value.  All of its potential and abundant energy was expelled into a few dancing flames and wisps of smoke.

This wood and fire is like so many of our lives.  Many lives are put to good use realizing the potential contained within but unfortunately too many more lives are spent in simple pursuit of pleasure in the here and now.  Before one knows it, they turn after countless seasons of expending energies on meaningless things only to find their hopes, dreams, as well as their futures have crumbled into a heap of ashes and their potential is lost in a proverbial puff of smoke.

How do you avoid becoming an ash pile?  Intention!  Focused intention to be precise.  We must constantly reevaluate where we are in our lives and where it is we want to go in order to reach our dreams.  Hence, the importance of goal setting should be obvious.   Even God said that without a vision (purpose, goal, focused intention) the people perish (Proverbs 29:18).  I personally know that even with intention we can still become distracted with the cares of this world.  Hence, the need for focused intention.  How do we become focused?  And on what do we properly focus so as to avoid the distractions?  The answer is quite simple but sometimes harder to apply.  The answer is God’s word and His purpose for our lives.  If we find out from God why we are here then we can live with intention.  And by staying in His word we become focused on completing His purpose.  By combining both we have focused intention in which the blaze of our lives will give off the heat of purpose and not some entertaining sense of loss to others watching.

God bless and go live with purpose!  Develop a focused intention today by getting into God’s word!

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It is my view that things which happen in the natural have something to show us or tell us in the spiritual.  Given the current state of our economy and the franticness of the government’s attempts to do something about it there seems to be lessons we can learn spiritually.  As we see in the natural, there is much talk these days about bailouts and stimulus packages, and who’s going to get what or how it will affect the average American.  One thing that is often missed in the discussions is the question of how did we get in to this mess in the first place.  Could it be the fulfillment of the scripture which indicates that the love of money is the root of all evil?  If so, then perhaps a love for money caused us to take our eyes off of more important things like caution or practicalities as we pursued instead speculation and risk management.  Now we (or someone else) are paying the price for our greed.

It works the same way in the spiritual realm.  When we take our eyes off of righteousness and proper living for God taking more “risks” with the world, in the end we (or someone else) must pay the price as a result.  If we pay the price we call it judgment and the end result is eternal damnation.  If we accept the fact that someone else paid the price for us - as in Christ upon the cross - then we have been bailed out of our situation.  If we didn’t know Christ at first and we come to this realization of our bailout, we understand then how salvation works and we are given a fresh start.  If we already know Christ and yet we have felt ourselves slipping for what ever reason in our relationship, then what we need is spiritual “stimulus” to get us perked up and back on track.  This spiritual “stimulus” can take several forms such as a scripture quote we come across, a friend who gently reminds us, a preacher who gives a message at the right time when we need it, a friendly blog (perhaps like this one) or even natural events that cause us to step back and ask ourselves what’s happening and how does this affect me (both physically and spiritually)?  In either case of a bailout or a stimulus they are undeserved and freely given, which is exactly how God has offered them to us.  The only thing we need to keep in mind is that a bailout or stimulus is not a licenses for us to keep on doing the same old things, they are to help us learn what got us in the position in the first place and what can we do to live out a change so we don’t get back in to the same position.  Therefore, I urge us all: please don’t be afraid to ask God when you need a bailout or His stimulus, be grateful when it comes your way, and do your best to learn from your past while committing your future to a better path by following God’s plan for your life!

Please join me for a free concert at the Vineyard Cafe in Beaver Dam, WI (820 Park Ave) Friday evening January 9th from 7 to 9 pm.  I will be performing songs from my current CD “Sanctuary Of My Heart” as well as several new tunes.  It will be a night of wonderous devotion to God as we worship His name together in a relaxed atmosphere!  Please checkout www.vineyardbooksandgifts.com for directions or contact them at (920) 885-7625.  I look forward to seeing you there! - Rick

Wow - I can hardly believe it’s a new year already - After all I was just celebrating the ringing in of 2008, which of course implied new beginings because of the number 8.  2008 was just that - a year of new beginnings.  This web page for example came up in ‘08.  I purchased a new vehicle in ‘08 and I started as the worship leader at New Life Community Church in Mukwanago in ‘08.  There were of course many other new beginings for me and my family this year.  Even though it’s somewhat sad to see the old year go, I am excited about 2009, because it implies fullness due to the number 9.  I am excited to see what the year may bring to blossom out of all the new beginnings from 2008.  I pray that there will be a fullness to the relationship between me and my God and between me and my family and friends.  I also pray that there will be a fullness to the ministry God has blessed me with and a fullness for both those who have supported and been touched by the ministry.

Understand that I do not really support the making of New Year’s resolutions, since they can elicit feelings of disappointment when we fail and condsidering we’re human and good at failing, I prefer to live by a daily motto of “moving and improving” or what others have referred to as “constant and never ending improvement”.  Living by this motto, moves me out of the realm of setting usually unrealistic and overwhelming goals to pursing more manageable objectives.  If I can find just one thing a day that I can try to improve upon even just a little bit, then I know by the end of the year all those little improvements will add up to something larger overall.  I balance this with the knowledge that we all must have a direction or big picture for our lives but as the old saying goes “how do you eat an elephant? - one bite at a time”.

So, if you, like me, want to stay encouraged throughout the year and if you must make new year’s resolutions, please set them to be realistic and only set ones that you know what the bite sized objectives are to get you there.  Hopefully they will be spiritual and relational in nature such as spending 5 or 10 more miniutes through out the day talking with God and letting Him talk to you or perhaps saying one nice thing to the significant other in your life each day.  I believe these kinds of goals help us to be better people in general and by being better in this manner makes us feel good about ourselves, which in turn affects everything else going on in our lives.

So here’s to 2009 may it be your year of fullness in Christ!

Well the election is over!  Whew - what a ride for the last several months.  For many it was a victory and for others it was a defeat.  No matter how you feel about the results of the election, we all now have to face the facts and continue on in living our lives.  As believers, we are always inspired by scriptures, which remind us that all rulers are established (and removed) by God.  We are also encourgaged to pray for our leaders, no matter who they are or what they may stand for.  Therefore, I hope with this first day after the election that you, like me, have begun praying for our country’s new leadership, afterall they will need it as much as anyone else.

Remember too that we are to show respect and obedience to our leaders, as is fit in the Lord.  The key phrase here is - as is fit in the Lord.  For me, that means as long as leadership does not ask of us things that are in direct opposition to God and His word, we are to follow.  However, should leadership ask of us things that are clearly against God and His word, we are to stand up for God like the Hebrew boys who stood up to Nebuchadnezzar and as a result had to face the furnace.  When we stand up for the things of God, things may get hot for us as well.  Who knows if the nation’s new leadership will provide us a hot or a cool spiritual atmosphere but none-the-less, we know who controls the thermostat.  King Jesus!

That’s right - Jesus - is the one in utlimate control and as long as we remember that, the results of the election really are not that important.  What is truly important is our attitude and our response.  If we want to adjust our own climate, we can influence the temperature through prayer.  So in all things, I encourage everyone to remain faithful in praying for our leadership here on earth - all the while remembering that we live by a heavenly theocracy not just an earthly democracy.