Remove the Do Not Disturb Sign from Your Life

disturb“Do not disturb.”

You’ve seen the sign hanging on hotel room doors. The sign means that the occupants want themselves and/or their things left alone. Maybe the occupant needs to sleep in. Perhaps he or she has valuable items that they do not wish for others to see.

Whatever the case, the message is clear. Be quiet and stay on your side of the door!

Our Personal Do Not Disturb Sign

How often have you wanted to display a Do Not Disturb sign prominently on your chest? We prefer an undisturbed life. We want our plans to succeed, our families to grow, our businesses to profit, and our health to stay strong. If we were to get our way, nothing bad would ever come our way. No one or nothing would ever cause us heartache or disappointment.

But that is an unrealistic expectation isn’t it? All of us experience some disturbances now and then. My good friend Bobby Simpson (Higher Ground Softball) reminded me that those disturbances are not necessarily bad things. In fact, we find our faith grows better in the fertile ground of challenges and trials. (See James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:6-7). Sometimes, as Bobby says, we need disturbing.

[Tweet “Sometimes…we need disturbing.”]

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Jesus Sat Down, So You Can Too

Jesus sat

Sitting down can be a good thing.

I had to move some furniture around the other day and sitting became my friend. Thankfully, my friend and experienced hard worker, Randy Toney, was there to make it possible. We moved my daughter’s old bedroom furniture to the church for our yard sale. Then we moved the furniture from my mom’s guest room to my daughter’s bedroom.

After loading up the “new” furniture, we decided it was time for a lunch break at Chick-fil-A. I have never sat and eaten so slowly. I needed that sit down. In fact, I found it difficult to get back to work after sitting for lunch.

We finally unloaded and set up the furniture. I didn’t mention that we also moved a large TV to our house. Our TV from our den went to my daughter’s bedroom, and her TV went to our bedroom. So after unloading the furniture, I set up everyone’s TV and took the best shower I have ever had.

After enjoying a delicious meal at our friends, The Griffins’ house, I went on to church for a committee meeting. I finally got back home and was able to sit down…really sit down. This time, I sat because I was finished with all I had to do for the day.

Where Jesus Sat Down

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Learn to Embrace the Seasons of Your Life

seasons of life

We have reached the midpoint of the best season of the year, Baseball season. It’s no secret how much I love the game.

But, of course, the year breaks down into other seasons too. Softball, football, basketball, hockey and a myriad of other sports have their seasons. Sportsmen can only hunt or fish for particular species during specified season.

The calendar year features four weather seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Well, except here in Georgia, we tend to skip winter. We have winter occasionally, but it usually only lasts a week or less.

Seasons of Life

We experience seasons in our lives as well. In his Holy Spirit inspired journal of wisdom, Solomon reminds us that God ordains the seasons of life (Ecclesiastes 3:1). He also considers these seasons occurring in God’s timing a beautiful thing. (Verse 11)

[Tweet “Change is inevitable as we move through the seasons of our lives.”]

We struggle to own up to the seasons of our lives because we resist change so tenaciously. But whether we admit it our not, change is inevitable as we move through the seasons of our lives.

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Avoiding the Spiritual Germ of Negativity

spiritual germ
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Lot’s of people are coughing and wheezing these days, and many of them are contagious. It is amazing that something so microbial that it is unseen can bring an otherwise functioning person to a grinding halt.

So far, I’ve managed to remain germ-free.  I have taken my vitamins, eaten lots of yogurt, and washed my hands so much I have shed a few layers of epidermis.  I can’t get sick; because I have too much to do. When a preacher gets sick, he sounds like a cross between James Earl Jones and Inspector Clouseau.   Not an attractive sound.

What is a Spiritual Germ

An insipid spiritual germ exists that is even more highly contagious and dangerous that the one that causes a physical URI. This germ is called NEGATIVITY.

…No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. – James 3:8-10

Gossip, complaining, fault-finding.  These are the streptococci of the spirit. When you hear them, run!  Stay away.  Another’s negativity may infect you and make you miserable.

You test positive for negativity when you hear it from your own lips.  God prescribes repentance and prayer as the remedy.  He promises to forgive every sin we confess to Him and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness.

[Tweet “You test positive for negativity when you hear it from your own lips.”]

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Give Pop-Up Prayer a Chance

pop-up prayer
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Pop-up ads are the scourge of the internet.  I have finally eliminated most pup-up ads, but now find myself a victim of pop-up autoplay videos.  Some of the videos are ads; some are news stories.  All of them startle me and distract me from the work I am trying to do when online.

Recently, however, I have been trying to cultivate the proactive of pop-up praying in my daily routine.  Pop-up prayers are spontaneous, short prayers triggered by something that I experience during the course of the day.  I often utter pop-up prayers when driving, talking on the phone, or working at my desk.   I find the more I have intentionally looked for pop-up possibilities, the more involuntarily they have occurred.

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Beware of Hidden Prayer Sins

hidden prayer sins
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Prayer is a good thing, right?  Well, it can be.  It should be.  However, prayer is sometimes sabotaged by hidden prayer sins that keep us from the full its benefits.

Hidden Prayer Sins

Below you will find a few hidden sins that lurk in our prayer times.  The list is certainly not exhaustive and you can probably add more.

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Pastor Appreciation Gift Ideas He Will Love

pastor appreciation gift

In Church circles, October is Pastor Appreciation Month.  Church members across the country are seeking the perfect pastor appreciation gift to demonstrate how they feel about their pastor.

The most unique gift I received over the years was a book of sermons from the donor’s favorite preacher.  Implicit was the suggestion that I would be better if I preached like the author.  I doubt I ever lived up to that donor’s lofty expectations.

However, I am thankful that God has blessed me over the years with some great congregations to lead.  Most of those congregations showed my family and me appreciation year-round.  I am blessed now to pastor the good people at Bellevue in Macon.  They took a chance on me when I thought no one else would, and I hope they have no regrets.

[Tweet “Remember important dates in your pastor’s life…”]

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6 Prayers You Can Pray for Your Pastor

pray for your pastor

One of the perks of being a pastor is having people pray for you. Sometimes you even get to hear them pray for you. What a humbling experience. In every place where I have served as pastor I have enjoyed the blessing of prayer support. And I greatly appreciate it. I need the prayers, really, I do. If any pastor will be honest he will have to admit that the responsibilities far outweigh the man, and prayer brings the power of God to the tasks at hand.

Whoever is your pastor – and I know that there are as many who read this who are not members of my church as who are, maybe even more so – I hope that you pray for your pastor on a regular basis.

How to Pray for Your Pastor

From time to time people ask me, “How can I pray for my pastor?” Let me use the letters in the word PASTOR to give you some ideas.

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4 Habits to Help You Pray without Ceasing

pray without ceasing
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“Are you the man who prays?”  The question humbled me.

I had just finished leading a voluntary staff prayer meeting at nearby organization when she posed the question.  I’ve had the blessing of leading prayer times with the team there several times over the last two years.  I never realized the impact those prayer times were making beyond the special needs for which we prayed.  I answered her question in the affirmative, now I need to make sure I was telling the truth.

As disciples of Jesus, we are supposed to pray; we are commanded to pray; we are instructed how to pray.  However, if we are honest with ourselves we often talk more about praying than we actually pray.

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Thoughts on Life and Death

life and death
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The news of the death of Marlin’s pitcher Jose Fernandez shocked the sports world Sunday morning.  Fernandez, only 24 years old, was an incredibly talented pitcher with a larger than life personality.  His exuberance inspired his teammates and often infuriated his opponents.  His shocking death in the prime of his life gives reason for us all to reflect on our lives.  What are your thoughts on life and death?

Life is fragile, and one inescapable statistic is that 1 out of every 1 people die.  For some, like Fernandez, that death seems to come much to early. For others, death comes as a welcomed release from a long struggle for survival.  Regardless of it’s timing, however, death eventually visits everyone, and we must prepare while we can.

[Tweet “One inescapable statistic is that 1 out of every 1 people die.”]

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