After my confession series I realize how difficult it can be to Get Real.  I said last Sunday that I felt like I was standing in front of my underwear. What I meant to say was I feel like I am standing in my underwear.  I think the first statement is more true.  Let's face it being authentic is like being naked. However I believe that what people are looking for both in the church and outside the church is authenticity. Authentic, that’s a rare thing to see these days. I know it’s always easy to point the finger as someone else, but, what about me?  The word “Authentic” means genuine or real.  As a Christ follower, are you authentic?  Are you genuine?  So many times our hunger for God can be inauthentic; it is nothing more than a show, a religious duty that others expect from us.  Jesus, said, “your words say one thing, but your heart is far from me.”  While we may fool people, we know that we can never fool God.  He knows who we really are.  The wonderful thing is that he loves us in spite of our weakness.  The challenge I face today is authentically hungering for spiritual transformation in my life.  Not because you expect it of me, but because I am aware of my own weakness and need for the power of God in my life.  The world is looking for “The REAL Thing”.  Get Real!

OK I know that it's been a while since my last blog.  I have had a ton going on including the wedding of my oldest daughter this last weekend.  I have to say it was a wonderful experience.  It is so wonderful to see your children follow the plan of God for their lives.  I cannot think of anything more gratifying in life.  My wife and I were just reflecting yesterday on the faithfulness of God.  We were reading a letter that Janet had written to Mallory several months ago when we were in the wedding planning stages and just believing God for all the expenses that go along with making a dream wedding come true for our daughter.  I have to say that God went over the top on this one.  Everything that we had hoped for he provided and we really just stood in amazement in watching Him do what only he can do.  The whole day was far above and beyond our expectations and it was one of the most unique and beautiful settings.  God has always proved Himself faithful to us, but if you are like us we sometimes forget it.  One of the cool things they did in the Old Testament was when God did something big, I mean when He left his hand print all over something, they built a memorial to his faithfulness.  It wasn't some idol it was just a testimony to the awesomeness of God.  I love it when he seeps into our lives and shows His goodness.  We were overcome at how awesome He is and how He provided for everything.  We will always look back on this time and see it as another instance where God did what only He can do.  The next time your tempted to doubt his goodness, just think back on something that he did for you.  WE ARE OVERWHELMED. 

Are you generally a thermometer or a thermostat?  Thermometers read the tempature of the enviornment, while thermostats monitor the tempature of the room and intervenes to change the atmosphere.  I think somtimes we pray as thermometers instead of thermostats.  Like thermometers our prayers reflect the reality of life, in other words we praise God for what is or we complain to God about what is not.  I believe that what Jesus taught is that prayer is a delegated authority for his disciples to interrupt the work of darkness and extend the Kindom of God.  Prayer is the ability to change the spiritual atmosphere of our life, our home and our community, and it should never be underestimated.  So much of our praying is reactive and shoud be proactive.  Abraham and God were friends and out of this relationship Abraham prayed the most powerful prayer of intervention in the scripture. He actully bargined with God for Sodom. Abraham stood in the gap for Sodom, negotiating a deal with God to spare the city if even ten righteous people could be found there. AMAZING! God wants us to jouney into friendship with Him and learn to excercise the power of prayer to intervene on behalf of others. My responsibility is not to figure God out, but simply to pray in faith, allowing God to shape not only my life, but the lives of other people.  He has given us the priviledge to adjust the thermostat of our enviornment.