Catalyst West Coast. As I write this, I am in a hotel room in Irvine for the conference that, I truly believe, is going to rock my world. After my love for Jesus and my family, my passion lie in (no particular order) my church, my business and becoming a better leader for both of those things. This conference promises to expand on all of these things, with music by Hillsong United thrown in to really make it a party.

There have been times in my life that I have felt were turning points for me. Times where I knew God was getting me ready for some big things. I don’t want to overstate it, but I believe this is one of those times. With the things that I have been working on, in business and church, I feel that the groundwork has been laid and these two days are going to kick into overdrive. There is a passage in Exodus where God sends Moses to the promised land:

The Lord said to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ Exodus 33:1 (ESV)

Today, as I sit here writing, I feel like that. Not comparing myself to Moses, but that clear voice saying, “Alright man, this is where the fun really starts!”

So, like Greg mentioned tonight, my prayer is that God just open me up in the next two day to take in all that I will experience, soak it all in and let Him lead me to where he wants me to be. This is so awesome. Stay tuned for the reports!

I describe this because in the last few months, many in this industry have been laid off, punctuated by the firing of 1,850 or some people from a major radio company in the last couple of days. They are great people who worked on their craft in a very specialized field, considering the number of radio stations in each city.

I have been through similar situations in the past, some very recent, and I was struck with this verse when I read it on the day that those that I know are hurting were laid off:

5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. Genesis 45:5 (NLT)

In this case, Jacob had been thrown in a pit by his brothers, sold into slavery by them and taken to Egypt. But from that, he had worked his way out of all this, been thrown in jail in the meantime, and still found his way to be the number 2 guy in Egypt, despite being Hebrew. 

But most of all, he forgives his brothers for letting him go. We are meant to do what God wants us to. If radio is it, you will find your way back, but a layoff will not stand in your way. It may be the change that you need. I know it has been for me. I am excited because I believe that I am going to be able to help those in need, in all media  industries and more. Bring it on!

Fortunately, as I am reminded in the read today, Jesus gives a great lesson on praying:

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13 ESV

The irony in this is that sometimes when we pray, we are really asking for the scorpion or the serpent. Yet, God always provides us with the fish or the egg. I know that many times I have prayed for something and then another thing happens in its place. But guess what, it ends up being better than what I thought was right. It usually ends up being somewhat trying, but at the end of the day when I look back on it all, I end up seeing how great it really was.

I love talking with God. In fact, I was doing that way before I was reading the Bible. It is an amazing thing and I hope that you might enjoy it as well. The funny thing about prayer is that we have been programmed to think that it only counts when we do it like in church. I believe that switch is always on. I think I will go have a chat right now. Thanks Jesus for the tips.

We crave attention and approval. It’s how we are wired. We want to be loved by our parents. We want the approval of our bosses. We want to be accepted. But, even in this text that is over 2000 years old, Jesus lets us know that this is not always going to be popular with others around us and we should not let that detour us. When addressing the religious leaders of the day (man, they didn’t even know what they were up against), he says:

33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” Luke 7:33-35 ESV

I love this! What he is saying is, “Luke is totally pure and virtuous and you call him a demon. I hang out with people you don’t like and you call me a drunk. You are like a bunch of name calling kids.” Don’t we all face that everyday. Who cares what they think! We should be listening to what Jesus is saying to us. Not ever easy, but the way to go.

On to Luke 8, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to see him. His response:

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Luke 8:19-21 ESV

Ouch! That one is rough. Being a mentor in student ministries, this one hits hard. For teenagers, despite all that is going on in with them, they crave acceptance. But, this is so great because the ultimate example of what we do should come from Jesus and those that are doing the Word of God. We need to do what is right, even if it something that parents aren’t into. Harsh? Yes. True? Absolutely! Parents not into your walk with Christ? Try to get them on board, but don’t let them detour you. Keep it up!

There is saying that says something to the effect that nothing comes easy and the things that are of worth to us come from hard work. How true that is of our walk with Christ. It is probably one of the most difficult things that we will do, but the kingdom awaits. I pray that you can keep on it and hope that you will do the same for me. I mean, it’s defying our human nature! We need all the help we can get.

There are so many examples of this in the Bible, but none better than Abram. In Genesis 15, God speaks to Abram:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” Genesis 15:1 ESV

Abram had just turned down a great reward from the king of Sodom. How hard must it have been to turn that down? But here, God is telling him that there is even greater reward! Then God let’s him know that his offspring will outnumber the stars, as the guy is in his 90’s. If you have been trying to have children for that long, it’s pretty easy to see that you would think that it is not going to happen. Yet, with faith, anything is possible. We see here that we are rewarded for our faithfulness:

 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6 ESV

How cool is that? Personally, from my reads, I know that God has something cooking for me. I don’t know what it is yet, but by faith I know that it is going to happen. It’s probably something that nobody, even myself, would think possible from me. But, I have faith that it will happen and I am fired up! How exciting is that? I’ll keep you posted…

15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Luke 5:15-16 ESV

None of us are healing people and having concert sized crowds looking for us, but don’t we all have things that are demanding our attention? For me, even though many times I am alone, there are things that are clamoring for my attention. My laptop is the biggest culprit. The mobile phone is a close second. Beyond that I have work, my kids, my wife, my house (which is cleaner than ever, by the way), church and the list goes on.

Tonight it was this blog. I was going through code and it was frustrating me. If you use a computer at work, feel for the IT guys. It is part of what I do. There are hundreds of lines of code and we need to find the problem. It consumed me and I got frustrated. I finally put it aside and read.

There is the solution. Get away. No computer, no kids, no mobile phone, no nothing. Just me and God. I need to get away. Not far, just away from the things that are calling for my attention. God, thanks for giving me this Book to let me know what is up. Amen.

42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them,43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:42-43 ESV

This verse really spoke to me. In this, Jesus had done some great stuff in Capernaum, but he had to move on. I am at that point right now where a lot of great stuff has happened in my life and career, but I am getting the feeling today that I really need to narrow the focus and hit it hard. Don’t get me wrong, this is not about moving or making changes in my family. It is really about my time and what I use it for. Really, it’s such a God-thing, I am having a hard time putting it into words. But trust me, it’s nothing too drastic in my life in terms of everyday life. A more focused approach really…

It’s funny how this Bible read thing goes. It just starts speaking to you. Get ready for the fun. Stay tuned…

7 So theLord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  Genesis 6:7 ESV

I found it ironic after reading this verse that this story is used all the time in children’s ministries. I missed this part of the story when I went to sunday school. The reason for the Ark story is because God is sick of the sexual depravity and violence that was going on. I just got a kick out of it. I don’t remember that part when I was a kid.

5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. Genesis 7:5 ESV

This verse really hit home with me. In making the Bible read a habit, God seems to stir in me (and hopefully you) things that I need to do. And to be quite honest, sometimes I am confused by it. But like Noah, I need to be ready to get on it, despite what anybody thinks. Can you imagine how different Noah had to be from what was going on? It’s hard. The Bible says it all the time, but we have to be able to things that others might think are weird or wrong.

16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Luke 3:16 ESV

In this passage, John is bringing the Good News to the crowd and they are digging him, maybe thinking that he is the Savior. It would probably be pretty easy for him to get caught up in the frenzy and think it had something to do with himself. But, he knows where it is coming from. Jesus is the one for them to follow, not John. I hope that I never forget that too. It’s all about Jesus and I am just lucky enough to talk about it. We are all so lucky.

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.”

Ladies, being a man and having been through this process a couple of times, I can tell you that it is torture for us too. Being with the woman that we have become one flesh with (Genesis 2:24) going through that hurts beyond belief. But, I get it: we will never go through that kind of pain and I am not going to argue. Trust me, we feel the pain, but just in another way.

Which leads me to Luke 2 where Joseph and Mary need to travel to Bethlehem for the census. . Having read the story numerous times during the Christmas holiday, we tend to focus on the birth of our Savior and the joy that it brings to us, which we should. But reading tonight, I started to think about what Joseph and Mary had to go through. Can you imagine:

• Joseph: Ah Mary, we have to go to Bethlehem to register for the census. Are you ready to go?
• Mary: WHAT? I am going to give birth any time and we have to go WHERE?
• Joseph: Yeah, Bethlehem. I know it is going to be tough riding a donkey 20 miles, but we have to do it. I will do everything I can to make it better for you.
• Mary: How about you try carrying God’s child for nine months and then ride 20 miles on the back of a donkey? That would help. And by the way, where are we going to stay?
• Joseph: Um, I’m not sure. We can find somewhere to stay when we get there…

Well, you know the rest of the story and if you don’t, check it out. They stay in a manger because the inns are all full. And at the end of the day, it is a beautiful thing. After all of that, the shepherds tell Mary about what the angel told them and she is full of joy:

19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. (Luke 2:19 ESV)

Then when Simeon, a man who had the Holy Spirit upon him says:

29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32 ESV)

Joseph and Mary feel the ultimate joy:

33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. (Luke 2:33 ESV)

You may be asking, what is your point? What I got out of today’s read is that from the hardest trials that we have to go through (chid birth is one of them from what I read) come the greatest rewards and from humble beginnings come great things. No matter what you are going through, that little baby can give you hope and you can get through anything, considering what his parents went through to get him here. Thanks Mary and Joseph.

The start of the current reading plan was Genesis 1&2 and Luke 1. It was Genesis that got my attention tonight as it is the beginning, and we are beginning the new year. What struck me was God’s organization. Everything was laid out in order and done at the right time:

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:3-4 (ESV)

As we embark on the journey in 2009, let us see the light. The light of God’s love and how we can love to shine the light throughout the year. I find it ironic that many are so hopeful this year because of a new leader in the U.S. when we should be looking at the true light every year. That is why I am hopeful this year, to shine the light of Jesus on even more people. I believe it will be a good year.

2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. Genesis 2:2 (ESV)

And I pray this year we can work hard on what God wants us to do. Like my office, we all need to look back and appreciate what we have done. I know I need the rest to keep on working!

So may we get organized this year, work hard for what is right and see the light of hope to make this a great year. It’s already off to a good start and I am thankful that I can journey along with you.