Good Enough???

Sorry it's been a while, but life has a way of consuming ones time and energy... So today I was asked to visit someone from our church who lives quite a bit away. Not too far, but enough of a drive to warrant some traveling music.

As I was driving back from my visit, a song came on that struck a deep chord with me. As a matter of fact, it's one of my favorites performed by Casting Crowns called "Voice of Truth". If you've never heard it, I highly recommend you take a listen...

You know, it would be SOOOO much easier if God would just tell me "Hey, on Friday at (insert time here), I'm gonna reach down and drop a revelation on you", just so I wouldn't be driving someplace or in the middle of something. But that's not how God works, is it? You see, for years I've struggled with being good enough. Good enough of a son; good enough of a husband; good enough of a father; good enough of an employee; good enough of a human being.

I've tried my very best to be responsible, to work harder than anyone else and to set a high standard for myself and others around me. And even if all of the things I've done were done to perfection, I still never felt good enough. I'm my own worst critic. My own worst enemy. I don't think I was born this way? So why?

I can almost recall every time someone else made me feel or flat out told me I wasn't good enough. Maybe not in those exact words, but still the same meaning. Do we really understand how damaging we are to one another? James 3:1-12 talks specifically about controlling your tongue. It would be better to just haul off and punch someone than to verbally assault them. Not that I condone violence, but a physical wound will heal over time. The mental wounds can take forever.

But today, while driving down a back-highway in Missouri, that song came on. A song that any other time I would sing along with, belting it out loud, if not a little off key... but today was different. The song began to play, and about half-way through it something happened. Something I never expected. As I was singing, I began to break... my voice, my train of thought and my heart. You see, for too long I've tried to be the best. To be good enough for everyone else around me. To prove to the world that I was good enough. But in a matter of a few seconds, God softly and gently spoke to my heart, telling me He thought I was good enough, and that's all that mattered.

So here I was, driving 60 mph with tears streaming down my face as I continued to listen to the song play, trying to decide if I needed to pull off the road or not. I kept driving, but for the next few minutes God reminded me that He thinks we are ALL good enough, otherwise sending His son to die on the cross was for nothing. He didn't do it for just a few of us that work hard enough. Not for those who give the most money. Not just for the ones who pray the most. Not even for those who invite the most friends to church and "get them saved". But for all of us. We're all good enough. And all it requires of us is this: to have faith and believe.

Faith in a creator who loves me enough that when I make mistakes, if I ask for forgiveness and truly mean it, He is willing to forgive me. Belief that Jesus Christ came down to this earth, giving up everything He had, to live a life just like me. For him to be beaten and punished and die on the cross so that all of the world would see that God thought we were good enough; that He would sacrifice it all just so we could always be close to Him.

I have to admit that as I've been writing this blog today, I have upon several occasions become teary-eyed. Not because of sorrow, but because of the great joy I feel in understanding that I no longer have to be bound by past hurts. That I have been set free by my faith and belief in the only one who makes a difference in my life. The only one who I need approval from. So let me close with this... Who have you told today that they are good enough?

Blessings,

Pastor Brian

Taking The Next Step

Hello again! Long time no see...

It's been a busy first part of the year already. I thought once the holidays were over, I wasn't gonna be busy for a while. LOL! Was I ever wrong. Seems to be a trend with me, being too busy to blog...

But that's not what I wanted to talk about today. Today I woke up to the realization that both of my daughters are somewhat in relationships with young men. Not that this hasn't happened before, but these ones seem different. I've met both young men, and believe it or not, as much as I should be spending my days instilling fear in them, I really like them. They are both talented in their own ways. And both share a very similar sense of humor with me. My daughters are looking at other men for the first time, and thinking about them first before daddy...

My son just turned 15, and has gotten his driver's permit. He is looking forward to getting a job in another year, and understands modern technology better than me. He's my right-hand man in my ministry, and I believe if anything happened to me, he could do the job no problem! And I believe he's reached the stage where girls aren't "yucky" anymore.

I think I'm about to take the next step in my life. I am facing the reality that very soon, all of my children won't totally rely on me anymore. That they will all very soon leave the house that I reside in and begin to live their own lives. That my three greatest creations will start to think about having families of their own. That I am already liking the idea of grandchildren. That I've gone from being a young man that women desired, to a father figure with graying hair and wisdom beyond my years. Can that time really be upon me?

I know that this is the natural progression of life. It is how God created us to be. His perfect order to the universe. I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I think this is what is referred to as the mid-life crisis. Our lives go through so many seasons. They never seem to be here very long. But I always reflect upon the life of my hero, Abraham. God told him he would be the father of nations and all would be blessed through him. Wow. How powerful is that? But Abraham started as a humble Abram, and had to go through so many seasons in his life before he got to that point.

I can only hope that someday I will look back, many seasons from now, and see those very promises fulfilled in the lives of my own family. That I will have been so faithful to God that my whole family for generations will be blessed in knowing God like I do, and that they are working towards the very same thing for their generations to come. That God will call them righteous, and His friends. That even though my seasons have come and gone, my life was full and rich. My favorite non-biblical poem is this one:

One hundred years from now,

it won't matter what car I drove,

what kind of house I lived in,

how much money I had in my bank account,

or what clothes I wore,

but that the world may be better

because I was important in the life of a child.

This I hope not only hold true for my children, but for every child God places in my care for the rest of my days serving Him in ministry. That as I continue to take each next step in life, I face them with excitement and anticipation of what God has in store for me.

Psalm 37:23 (New Living Translation)

²³ The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.

Blessings,

Pastor Brian