Interference

Most people know that I am wired up for worship services. I have a wireless mic and a set of wireless ear buds. The ear buds give me a more precise sound of all the instruments and vocalists. But not everything with the wireless systems works the way I would like it. You see, technology is way ahead of my system. Many cell phones now are connected to the Internet or have these fancy personal computers in them. During church, I hear or know when people are receiving text messages, voice mails or looking at their emails. How do I know, my ear buds go out or I hear in the ear buds, people faintly talking or static as the phone rings or text message comes in. It interferes with my system causing, at times, it to completely stop all sound coming to me through my ear buds. I have to pull a bud from an ear in order to hear and refocus on what is happening musically around me.



There are so many things that completely interferes with us listening to our Lord. We come to church. We sit, we stand, we sing, we participate in everything we are asked to do, but the message is never heard. We might be thinking of work or what we are doing after church. Sometimes we might be focusing on past events or the excitement or worry of something upcoming. Things cause interference in our lives and we can't hear the message from our Lord. There are many times I catch myself in this. Many times it is because I'm thinking of the timing needed for the next song or remembering the chord progressions. It causes interference with me hearing the Word. When that happens, I have to stop and refocus on what is going on. I have to refocus on the Word. We need to work on putting all the things that interfere with worship aside so the message, the Word, the desires of our Lord, will be our focus. The interference from the phones, pda's, blackberry, etc could easily be prevented. With a little work we all could put aside our personal interferences from the Word of God.

Always Remember

The pain and suffering of giving something up during Lent is over. At least, that is what one person said. I know people who gave up certain drinks, certain foods, certain words, certain items. Now that Lent is over, they were excited to partake in those things again. That "pain" and "suffering" is now over for them.

True, the tradition of giving something up for Lent is now over. The suffering of living without something is now done. But as I shared with one person, shouldn't we be remembering the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior daily? The Lenten season might be done on the calander, but it should never be done in our hearts. Each day is an opportunity to share and to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Each day gives us a chance to rejoice in our salvation. Each day gives us the joy knowing that our sins are forgiven. Each day, each time we confess our sins, each time we take the Lord's Supper, we are celebrating Lent and Easter over again. To give something up for Lent is fine, if it is something you do, but never stop refecting on the purpose of Christ death and resurrection.

Reminder

Last week, I flew back from Florida so I was ready for Palm Sunday weekend. As I boarded my connection in Atlanta, the flight attendant got on the intercom. Her voice was very stern and almost in a derogatory way, reminded all of the passengers that we needed to sit down and buckle up because we were on an airplane. She didn't leave it at that, she said it three times. Each time reminding us that we were on an airplane. To tell us that we were on an airplane was a reminder that we really didn't need to hear.

God reminds us every day of who He is. As I'm typing this, I look outside and see snow falling in April. While we were on the airplane waiting for our turn to take off, a heavy downpour came and you couldn't see the tip of the wing. Sometimes it's the sun shining, a certain song playing on the radio, a bible passage coming to mind. All these things are reminders of who God is and His awesome power. Sometimes we take so much for granted that God gives us an obvious reminder, like the flight attendant's reminder that we were in an airplane. Other times, the reminders aren't so obvious and it takes time for us to realize what God is telling us. As we celebrate Easter, God is once again reminding of His victory over death and the devil. We need to refocus hearts and minds on what Easter is truly about. Reminders from God are everywhere. He is telling us that He is here with us. Our part is to look, listen, and focus on Him.

I Have Forgotten...

Sunsets. I have to admit, I had forgotten how awesome they look. As the sun goes down, the colors in the sky radiate. I had really forgotten what they looked like. I'm on vacation in Pensacola, Florida. The day brings about playing on the beach, hunting hermit crabs, eating shrimp, a little golf, playing in the water and relaxing. It is a vacation. But when the sun sets, things seem to slow down a little for me. To watch the sun slowly exit from the sky and see those deep colors, it is amazing.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of life that we fail to slow down and see the beauty God puts around us. We tend to focus on the activities we must do. Run to the store, go to work, drive kids around, cook dinner, pack lunches, etc...all those things in our daily routine that have our focus. But when do we slow down and see the things that God has so blessed us with? Our family, friends, home, His creation...sunsets. I have seen His glory through His creation. It is my prayer that you have a moment to slow down and see the beauty around us. Take a moment from the business of life to see what God has put around you. His creation is amazing. Maybe you will have the opportunity to see the sunset. I have slowed down...I have seen the beauty of the sunset.

What To Say

I received an email today. It wasn't the kind of email I expected to recieve. In fact, I was in total shock. I sat and read it. Then I had to read it again. It said..."Dear Terry, I know that this will completely shock you, but I had to tell you this. I was just told that I have cancer and it is rapidly moving throughout my body. I can't tell anyone about it. I can't tell my husband, my kids, my family. I needed someone to tell, so I sent this to you. I feel that I could tell you because of how you talked with me at the National Youth Gathering. I'm so scared that I might die. I have been taught that Christ loves us and will not give us more than we can bear. I have always been taught not to fear death but rejoice in the reward. When the Doctor told me I had cancer, I cried. Yes, I'm afraid to die. I don't want to leave my family. I love them so much. I'm angry that I have cancer. I'm angry that I might not see my children grow up. I'm angry that I may not have the opportunity to continue to share who God is to them. Who will tell them of the love of God if I would die? What should I do?"

My response...tears and prayers. I couldn't really give an answer. I could only stop and pray. I will respond. How, I'm not sure, but I know that the Lord will put the right words in my heart. But for now, I'm praying.

Juggling Made Easy

I have never figured out how to juggle. I'm in total awe of people who can. When I was younger, I tried. I even checked a book out at the library to teach me how. So I grabbed bean bags and started to learn the art of juggling. I figured if I could juggle, then I could be like those people on tv who could juggle chainsaws or axes. I read the book, learned what to focus on and decided it was time to start learning. I tossed the first bean bag and then the second and then the third and...they fell to the ground. So I tossed them again. One first, then the second, then the third and...they fell again. So again I tried and again they fell. Again and again my attempts to juggle didn't work. To this day, I can't juggle or can I...

In my life, I have to juggle many things. Like you, I have to juggle my job, family, my faith, my personal time and the list goes on and on. Juggling is something that we all must do. We do something for our family and we feel that the job suffers or we do something for the job and we feel that our family suffers. We get so caught up in juggling our job and family that our faith suffers. We keep trying to juggle everything, but then it all falls. We struggle with our juggling. But we have help. If our focus is on him, the juggling act becomes a lot easier. God has to be first. He has to be what we focus on. In juggling, the focus has to be on the right object. In juggling our life, our focus has to be on the right place. It has to be on God. He is the one that makes juggling our lives easier. Juggling made easy...Keep God first!

I Just Had to Look and Listen

I was sitting in my office looking out the window and suddenly it happened. I couldn't believe it. It happened right in front of me. My eyes were widen, my heart thumped louder. I was so amazed that it happened in front of me that I sat with my mouth wide open. So what happened? Stop leaving us hanging. What happened? I saw God's glory. Yes I did. You see, the sun was shining. That is nothing new. The traffic on the road was moving. Nothing new. The wind was blowing and clouds were moving across the sky. Nothing new. But I did see God's glory. For one moment, you could see the sunbeam from the sky. It looked like it hit the ground just outside of the window. In my mind, I saw God's glory.

What an amazing thing. I just happened to be getting a little frustrated at that time. I was trying to find music to fit the theme of a worship service. I was paging through scripture. I was grabbing songbook after songbook looking for the right song to share the message. I was working frantically. I stopped, looked out the window and there it was, God's glory! Through all this planning, my planning, I was forgetting to stop and let God talk. He was showing me all along what to pick. He placed the songs in my heart. All I had to do was listen to the still small voice from God.