SNEAK INTO

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

The past six or seven weeks have been a bit blurry but certainly blessed. 

I mean just yesterday my dear friends from a multitude of partnering ministries/programs including HerStory received awards for their innovative recovery work. 

So many deserving compassionate people. 

Also, yesterday while in Louisville with 70+ deeply dedicated folks resolved to “reclaim recovery” for those suffering through research, innovation, and advocacy I was stirred by their energy and zeal.

I was reminded of this…

…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38 (ESV)

My friends and colleagues KNOW the impact and energy giving power of GIVING.  They do.  It shows.  And while some go about their work of service in a more secular construct, it doesn’t diminish their hope-filled impacts on those they are called to serve as well as themselves.

But over the course of this latest conference something was shared that “I knew” but hadn’t thought about in a while.

Giving is GOOD for your brain.

It is.

Spiritual pursuits, even better.

They are.

Dr. Nicole Labor who is a prominent expert in the “brain science” of addiction reminded us this week that as folks EMBRACE a SPIRITUAL program in recovery (and that includes SERVICE and GIVING) the brain HEALS even faster.  Add DAILY GRATITUDE to that and the healing accelerates even more.

Isn’t that remarkable?

We shouldn’t be surprised though.

GOD KNOWS what is GOOD for us and WHY WOULDN’T He have the things that PLEASE Him also be positively impacting?

I do have to admit, I love it when GOD finds ways to sneak into the psyche of my science-led colleagues.  For sometimes my “Pastoral approaches” get a little ridicule from the “evidence based” evangelists.

So, it is cool when GOD invades their space and their scans.

And I will be honest I have been with a bunch of them over the course of this 8-week tour of the country that has kept me from the daily OFH duties some.  And whether chatting with clinical folks in Denver or sharing in Maryland with nurses and practitioners, it is HARD to anyone to DENY GOD when it comes to this vocation of RECOVERY.

And the good news is that MORE and MORE folks are beginning to EMBRACE what GOD can do rather than spend the energy discounting or ignoring Him.

But I share this today for this reason.  Never forget, GOD is in all things, all that you do, your plans, your purpose and your destiny.  GOD also loves you so very much that He offers you pathways and opportunities that WILL BLESS you.  Trust me. He wishes not just to permeate the recovery expert; He desires to REVEAL HIMSELF to YOU in amazing ways as well.

Lambros said it this way, “How often we neglect, ignore, overlook, or simply miss the presence of our loving God. We often look for Him in the great rolling thunder when, more often than not, He comes in gentle whispers . . . in the soft cooing of a baby, through the touch of a loved one's hand, in the warm embrace of a trusted friend, in the pitter-patter of a sudden summer shower on a tin roof, or with the cool touch of an evening breeze on an Autumn night. Through hundreds of ways, God whispers, "I love you and I am always with you." Don't miss Him or His presence as you go through this day. Open your eyes of faith and look for Him in the most simple of ways. The experience can be extraordinary and life-changing!”

So, the point today is GOD is looking to “sneak into” your day too.  Don’t miss HIM!

I love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY!

Opportunities for Hope

GOD IS ALWAYS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

As I mentioned late last week, I recently was blessed and honored to share a message at Mosaic Church.  And I shared the first half of the message a couple of days ago here on the DISPATCH/OFH. 

Just to jog your memory, the talk was titled “In the Middle of the Mess” or in other words “What is true about GOD when we are in the middle of our mess”.

So, here are points 4 through 6 from that message.  Points 1 through 3 if you recall were GOD was ALWAYS, COMPASSIONATE, COGNIZANT, and CAPABLE. 

Continuing on…

The Lord is always CALCULATED in the middle of the mess.  

…we are convinced that every detail of our lives …

(EVEN THE MESSES)

is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. For he knew all about us before we were born, and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son – Romans 8:28-29 (TPT)

Piper put it this way, “Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.”

GOD’S MATH, the EQUATION of our LIFE is without error.

GOD is always CONSUMMATE. In other words, we can trust that he is PERFECT; that ALL His ways are PERFECT.  So even when we are in the middle of our mess as our PASSAGE from ROMANS above says, …we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan

Next, GOD is ALWAYS CLEAR.  Mandy Hale remarked, “The more you go with the flow of life and surrender the outcome to God, and the less you seek constant clarity, the more you will find that fabulous things start to show up in your life.”

We should pray as the PSALMIST prayed to GOD to, “Give (us) revelation about the meaning of your ways so (we) can enjoy the reward of following them fully.” – from Psalm 119:33 (TPT)

I think I am going to hold off on number 7.  Hopefully I will be able to pen it tomorrow.  

My hope is WE BOTH remember these TRUTHS when we are in the middle of OUR MESSES!

Love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY!

Opportunities for Hope

WHAT GOD IS...

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Friends, all I can say is “whew” and what happened to SEPTEMBER?  I am guessing some of you are saying what happened to Pastor Greg and the “less than daily” DISPATCH or OFH.  I must ask myself a little too! 

I wrapped up my mileage log for September (Recovery Month) late last night and was stunned to see the number just south of 5000 miles. And that was in 26 days of September.  YIKES!

So, I certainly don’t mind finding October pop up on the calendar.  I got married in October, had Sammie my middle and rather precocious daughter in October.  FALL happens in October and that is my favorite, but October hopefully promises to be “not quite so” crazy. 

But enough of all that.  A couple of weeks ago I was blessed and honored to share a message at Mosaic Church.  Rosario Picardo and his team has architected an AMAZING, THRIVING, INCLUSIVE, and PASSIONATE church.  So, I was so warmed by getting share with them.  And I thought as I “resurfaced” today to write, I would share the first half of that talk and the second tomorrow  because I know it has HELPED me a bunch of late (even though it is tough to practice what we preach sometimes) and I feel like it is for others to hear as well.

The talk was titled “In the Middle of the Mess” or in other words “What is true about GOD when we are in the middle of our mess”. 

And the Lord shared this with me.  That HE is always COMPASSIONATE in the middle of the mess. Psalm 56:8 (MSG)

You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.

Let that sink in for a second.  Our GOD, the GOD who right now has more than 7 billion folks to “keep an eye on” is so INTIMATELY engaged with you that he is meticulously keeping your tears, your every hurt, your every apprehension, fear, pain, etc. in his ledger.  And He is ALWAYS ready to TAKE them and heal them.  (1 Peter 5:7). 

That friends is UNPARALLELED COMPASSION!

He is always COGNIZANT of our mess.

Psalm 139 reminds us that there is NO WHERE we COULD GO, no place, no cave, no mountain, no depth or height that would remove us from HIS WATCH or HIS CARE. And the writer of HEBREWS confirms that, “We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all…” (Hebrews 4:15 MSG).

And lastly for today, He is always CAPABLE to get us THROUGH our MESS (even when we don’t “think so”).  Remember, “It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:4 NLT).

…apart from me (GOD) you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NIV)

Tomorrow I will share (4) more “C’s” to get us through the rough “SEAS” of life. (Thanks Pastor Wayne).

But for today remember…

 

I love you all!

Have a BLESSED DAY! (Good to feel you October)

Opportunities for Hope