AM I TOO BUSY?

Here are some additional thoughts on the verse I shared with you yesterday from Proverbs 16:3 — “Roll your works on the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.”

One of the problems in our society is that we are way too busy. Sometimes our busyness keeps us from staying connected to the right SOURCE. Instead we are connected to sources that drain us and cause the T.I.R.E.D. Syndrome vs. living a life of resting and trusting the way God has designed us to live.

John Gordon in his book THE 10-MINUTE ENERGY SOLUTION says that the T.I.R.E.D. Syndrome “is a condition in which you feel worse and worse the more you use your computer, your cell phone, and the multitude of electronic gadgets that are supposed to make your life easier. Symptoms include feelings of increased stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety, isolation, and sleep deprivation. T.I. R. E. D. stands for TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION RELATED ENERGY DEPLETION.”

Gordon goes on to say that “it seems every facet of our life is being replaced by electronic substitutes. Instead of exercising we’re searching, responding to emails, playing on-line games, and watching TV. About 60 percent of adults don’t get enough physical activity, and 25 percent don’t get any at all. Our physical activity is declining — and the average American spent about 1,669 hours (or 70 days) watching TV in 2004, according to USA TODAY. And instead of getting together with family and friends, we are spending more time on our cell phones and online. Studies now show that the average American spends 619 minutes a month on the cell phone and 3 hours a day on-line.

Our lives are always on and connected. Whether it’s by phone line, cable modem, cell phone, or PDA, we are always connected to technology information. We’re always plugged in, and instead of drawing power we are expending it, giving it away, or having it sucked from us — costing us our health and our energy.”

But Gordon hasn’t touched on the major issue. We are so connected to the wrong source because of our crazy lifestyles that we don’t have time to spend with Him. We don’t even think of “rolling our works on the Lord” because we have crowded HIM out of our lives. If we are too busy for HIM — we are way too busy and need to make a major adjustment in our lives. When we spend time alone with Him, He replaces the stress and strain of life with HIS rest. That is when we are restored.

How about it . . . Are you too busy this morning to spend time with the Lord? Maybe you are way too connected to the wrong source. Why not give Him 10 minutes each day for the next week. Some of you will say, “Just 10?” Well my guess is that if you haven’t given Him ANY time, ten minutes is a good start. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Start today! God bless you.

YOUR PLANS AND MINE

Our 2006 summer conference season is weeks away from beginning, and quite frankly, it has been discouraging to me to see the lack of interest in people registering for this summer. We worked hard at getting our brochure printed earlier, mailed out earlier, and in fact, even did a second mailing this year. The net gain has been incremental, and quite frankly, discouraging.

Yesterday I talked with a good friend who is a consultant with the Christian Camp and Conference Association, and while his news was not good, it was a help. The bottom line is that camps and conference centers are all experiencing low registrations this summer and they are trying to figure out what is going on.

Today’s verses for me from Proverbs were “just what the doctor ordered” but came from the GREAT PHYSICIAN who knows exactly how to diagnose what is going on with my life:

” The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the LORD comes the [wise] answer of the tongue. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart). Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them WHOLLY to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable with HIS will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” — Proverbs 16:1-3

I love the word pictures presented in these verses. We had a systematic plan this summer. Brian Bitler, our Director of Marketing and Technology prepared a beautiful brochure (www.americaskeswick.org). From the “world’s” point of view, it should “sell” our summer season. And yet for some reason, it hasn’t produced the results “WE” have expected. So panic sets in and I begin to ask the question — “What are WE going to do?”

Then the Holy Spirit this morning hit me over the head with the holy “two-by-four” — the living, powerful, active, relevant Word of God: “ROLL YOU’RE YOUR WORKS UPON THE LORD SO YOUR PLANS WILL BE ESTABLISHED.” The Holy Spirit reminded me that there are times that I have my plans and thoughts and they just don’t work. All the marketing techniques and the things that are supposed to work are thrown out the window — I need to “roll my works onto HIM” and allow Him to line up my thoughts with His will . . . THEN “my plans will be established and succeed.”

Bottom line — it is another example of this whole concept of “I am not, but I know I AM.” It isn’t all about me — IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM.” “Lord, I don’t know how to ‘fix” the summer season . . . So I am rolling my burden, concerns, works onto you . . . Without you, apart from you — I can’t do anything! Show me YOUR plans and purposes for this summer.”

What are you struggling with today, my friend? Roll your plans on HIM. I will be praying for YOU today!

If Freedom Fighters bless your heart, why not invite a friend to join our growing family. You can sign up them up right from the homepage: http://www.americaskeswick.org. God bless you.

WILL I EVER GET IT?

“Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.” — Proverbs 15:4 THE MESSAGE

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get it. I know one day I will — and that gives me hope. But until then, I need to constantly remind myself that my tongue is a powerful weapon. Too often I find myself speaking first and then thinking about what I said.

James gives an amazing word picture in James 3 about the power of this little member that could be classified as a weapon of mass destruction:

“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word of our your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish anything — or destroy it! It only takes a SPARK, remember to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue — it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth.” (from The MESSAGE)

How often my words have been a weapon of mass-destruction. Have you ever been there? It’s like dropping the atomic bomb — before you have a chance to think about what you’ve said, your word(s) have caused catastrophic destruction. I’m not proud to say that I have done that with my wife, my kids, my staff. I’ve seen that look in their eyes — I drop the bomb and the hurt is there.

I need to prayerfully consider my words before I speak them. Play the tape to the final conclusion. I can understand now the cry of King David’s heart: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my FIRM, IMPENETRABLE ROCK and my REDEEMER.” Psalm 19:14 from the Amplified Bible. My prayer today is that my words will bringing healing and help not wound or maim.

Steve and Annie Chapman will be sharing about MARRIED LOVERS AND FRIENDS on this week’s KESWICK TODAY broadcasts. Steve and Annie will be speaking at our June Couple’s Weekend. Check out the broadcast right from the Keswick homepage: http://www.americaskeswick.org.

MOTHER’S DAY

Today is the day we honor those special ladies in our lives — our Mothers! One of the things that grieves my spirit is how many folks I meet who have absolutely no relationship with their Mothers. It is a hard thing for me to understand. My Mom was by no means the perfect Mom — but our Dad adored her and from my earliest recollections, he made sure that my brother and me honored, respected and loved her.

When my Mom died, she didn’t leave us anything of substantial monetary value. But what she left us was a legacy of what it means to love Jesus. She loved Jesus with all her heart. What she did leave me was a Bible filled with notes and dates of how God was at work in her life. She also left several very worn devotional books that contained notations of things that were taking place in her daily walk with God.

One of her favorites was a devotional written by Millie Stamm, BE STILL AND KNOW. Most of the pages are missing and I didn’t know why until months after she died. My Mom had a very aggressive form of cancer and lived out her last weeks and days at the Cancer Treatment Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was unable to do much communicating verbally because her the cancer had affected her throat and voice box. But she was still able to radiate the love of Christ to those who cared for her. She communicated by writing notes to the nurses and doctors. When it was hard to even write, she would pull out the pages of her devotional book and give them to her caregivers.

Several months after she went home to be with Jesus, we received a note from a nurse who was touched by her life. This nurse was having a particularly tough time personally and my Mom was very sensitive to her need. What she pulled out of that worn and tattered devotional book, was just what God wanted this nurse to hear. This lady was touched by the love and concern of my Mom.

It’s days like today that I really miss my Mom. We talked on the phone for a few minutes every day up until the day before she died. I miss hearing her voice. I miss chatting with her. But as I read her devotional books each morning, she still speaks to my heart. I’d love to be able to pick up the phone today and tell her that she has three grandbabies on the way! She would be so happy and proud of her granddaughters, Laura and Julie, and the daughter-in-law she never met, Jenny. Thanks, Mom, for the legacy you left us — may my new grandbabies come to love Jesus the same way you did.

“The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the fear-of-God. Festoon her life with praises!” — Proverbs 31 from THE MESSAGE

Guys — if you are not going to be with your special Mom today — pick up the phone and call her. Tell her you love her. You won’t have her on this side of heaven forever. Don’t spend a life of regret wishing you had made that call!

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Yesterday was one of those days. It started out with a phone call that one of our Colony grads who was supposed to lead our prayer times for the conference this weekend, was taken to the hospital with stroke like symptoms. A half-hour after that, we received word that one of our precious donors had had a massive stroke and went home to be with Jesus at 4:30 in the morning. Not long after that while in our Board meeting, my wife came to the door and judging by the look on her face, I could tell there was a problem.

Our youngest daughter’s baby (growing in her womb) had not moved in twelve hours and they were obviously greatly concerned. (Everything is fine, thank the Lord!). By the afternoon, we received word that the Director of our Keswick Institute of Biblical Studied had his good friend at the seminary die unexpectedly. Then I received word that the one of our staff baby’s was diagnosed with pneumonia.

It sort of felt like one of those “JOB” days. If you’ve never read his story in Job 1, he continued to receive bad news all day long. The text says, ” . . . And while they were speaking …” more and more bad news was being delivered. In the course of several hours, this man, favored by God, lost all of his possessions as well as all his kids. What was so amazing, was at the end of a very, very, bad day, Job didn’t run and hide — he didn’t crawl up in some corner and give up. The end of the first chapter says that “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’ Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.” (Job 1:21-22)

Wow. Despite the way Job’s day went — HE WORSHIPPED! That’s the heart of a worshipper! Not just worshipping when things go well, but worshipping even when it has been ONE OF THOSE DAYS. As you prepare for the Lord’s day tomorrow, have you had ONE OF THOSE DAYS? WEEKS? MONTHS? May the song and praise from our lips be this — BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD.

Have you made your plans to join us for our 2006 summer conference season? We have four great Adventure Weeks planned for you. For information, you can download our summer brochure at http://www.americaskeswick.org. Have a great day.

HEADQUARTERS

I was blest as a teenager to get to hear one of America’s great preachers, Vance Havner, now with the Lord. Recently I was given a copy of a devotional thoughts, long out of print. Here is one of my favorites . . .

“Most of us report somewhere or other to headquarters. The soldier reports to his commanding officer. The clerk reports to the boss. The teacher reports to the principal. In the shop, in the store, in business and profession, we show up now and then at headquarters.

For a good many years I have been reporting to headquarters. But I go to no office building, I get in touch with no man. I can take my hat off while walking in the woods, or wake up in the middle of the night anywhere and report to the top command. For I was called and commissioned to preach the Gospel. Heaven is headquarters, and I do not have to wait in an anteroom nor take my place in a line or get by a secretary. There is a rent veil, and I can come boldly to the throne of grace. Anytime, anywhere, I can reach the Manager.

How good it is when puzzling problems arise, when difficult decisions must be made, to stroll into the woods and talk things over! Or if emergencies suddenly develop and quick action must be taken, I do not have to phone — heaven is nearer than the next town.. There is glorious liberty in it, for, so long as I am on good terms with Headquarters, I need not worry about my popularity down here.

But while having one’s headquarters in heaven gives blessed liberty, it also involves much responsibility. To our own Master we stand or fall, but there is law in liberty. We must give an account to Him for our stewardship, and it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful. Our Lord does not merely suggest it, He requires it. There is law in the New Testament as well as in the Old. We do not run loose under grace. But it is the law of Christ, the law of life and love. ‘The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.’

So I shall continue to report to Headquarters here. And eventually I shall report up there. But I shall not turn in my credentials to retire. I shall be recommissioned for work in a new sphere. It is said concerning the Heavenly City, ‘And His servants shall serve HIM.’ That is why I need to keep in touch with Headquarters here:

Take time to be holy, be calm in your soul;
Each thought and each motive beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
You soon shall be fitted for service above.”

When was the last time YOU reported to Headquarters? He is waiting to hear from YOU today!

Devotional thought from REST FOR THE WEARY by Vance Havner published by Revell

TAKING THE INITIATIVE

” . . . Add to your faith virtue . . . ‘ 2 Peter 1:5

Good words today from the pen of Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest . . .

ADD means that WE have to do something. We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We cannot save nor sanctify ourselves — God does that. But God will not give us good habits or character, and He will not FORCE us to walk correctly before Him. We have to do all that ourselves. We must ‘work out ‘ our ‘own salvation’ which God has worked IN us (Philippians 2:12).

ADD means that we must get into the habit of doing things, and in the initial stages that is difficult. To take the initiative is to make a beginning — to instruct yourself in the way you must go.

Beware of the tendency to ask the way when you know it perfectly well. Take the initiative — stop hesitating — take the first step. Be determined to act immediately in on what God says to you when He speaks, and never reconsider or change your initial decisions. If you hesitate when God tells you to do something, you are being careless, spurning the grace in which you stand. Take the initiative yourself, make a decision of your will right now, and make it impossible for you to go back. Burn your bridges behind you, saying, ‘I will write that letter,’ or ‘I will pay that debt’; then do it! Make it irrevocable.

We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about EVERYTHING, forming the habit of finding out what HE says and heeding it. If, when a crisis comes, we instinctively TURN TO GOD, we will know that the habit has been formed in us. We have to take the initiative where we ARE, not where we have not yet been.”

Wow — I am always amazed how timely Oswald’s writings are for today. God has so used his writings in my life. I trust that today these words will impact your life like they have done again for me this morning. What area of your life has the Holy Spirit pinpointed today where you must take the initiative? I’d love to hear from you.

Jennifer Sands continues to share lessons learned from the tragedy of 9-11. Hear her story today on KESWICK TODAY radio. Visit our website: http://www.americaskeswick.org

Shouldn’t . . . Can’t … Won’t

Three interesting words that went through my mind very early this morning. All three impact the choices we make in our lives. Yesterday we looked at the downward cycle in the lives of the children of Israel:

They forgot His works
They forgot their Savior
They did not believe His word
They grumbled
They did not listen to His voice

And as I read further in Psalm 106 today, I add to more to the list:

They provoked Him to wrath . . .
They became unclean in their practices.

What a downward spiral. If we are not careful — we can follow the same downward path. And if we are honest with ourselves . . . At times, haven’t we been there because of wrong choices we have made?

I have been on this journey with my weight loss for several years now and have been stuck. I know what I SHOULDN’T eat . . . I know what I CAN’T eat. But until I resolve that I WON’T eat the wrong things — I will live in defeat.

All of us face temptations and those sins in our lives that the writer of Hebrews said are “besetting sins” — “the ones that so easily entangle us.” You know exactly what I am talking about because just now the Holy Spirit placed His finger on that area of your life. Think about that area — Have you found yourself saying — “I know I shouldn’t do that” — but you do. Then the conviction comes from the Holy Spirit and we tell ourselves — “I can’t do that again” and we promise ourselves, and often God, that we cannot go there again.

The Apostle Paul faced a similar struggle . . . “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate . . . For I do not do the good I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do.” (Romans 7:15, 19)

What the children of Israel couldn’t get is what we need to remember. We need to move from I SHOULDN’T and I CAN’T to I WON’T. That is only possible THROUGH Christ. He gives us the power to make those choices.

I know what I need to do with my eating. I need to resolve today that WON’T eat those things that I KNOW are going to cause me to go backwards and fall. It is the same with those things I struggle with. I need to move from I SHOULDN’T . . . I CAN’T . . . To I WON’T.

I was reminded of an old hymn that I was taught as a child:
I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.
Refrain
I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I will hasten, hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, Jesus, greatest, highest, I will come to Thee.
I am resolved to go to the Savior,
Leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true One, He is the just One,
He hath the words of life.
I am resolved to follow the Savior,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.
I am resolved to enter the kingdom
Leaving the paths of sin;
Friends may oppose me, foes may beset me,
Still will I enter in.
I am resolved, and who will go with me?
Come, friends, without delay,
Taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,
We’ll walk the heav’nly way.
So what is it this morning with you? Is there an issue that you have been saying, “I SHOULDN’T?” Have you found yourself yielding to it and then saying “I can’t do this again?” Purpose today . . . Resolve today . . . By God’s grace you CAN say “I WON’T.”
Hope my ramblings this morning made sense. Dialog with me about it if you’d like. I always enjoy hearing from you. Have a good day.

DON’T FORGET

One of the things that plagues many older Americans is forgetfulness. We tend blame it on age. I hang out with a fair amount of senior citizens because of where God has placed us at America’s KESWICK. Forgetfulness is an on-going problem.

But “forgetfulness” seems to be something we deal with since early childhood. Raising Zach has been fun even at this age, but as we do through these pre-teen years with him and still have some discipline issues to deal with (do they ever go away?) he will often say, “I forgot!” We scratch our heads as parents and say, “How can you forget? We just talked about this yesterday!”

The children of Israel, like you and me if we’re honest, struggled with forgetfulness. They witnessed so many miracles, signs and wonders under the leadership of Moses and yet how quickly they forgot what God did for them. God would perform a miracle that would astound them, and then so quickly they went back into their sinful ways.

In Psalm 106 this morning, just in the space of several verses I read:

106:13 — They QUICKLY forgot His Works
106:13 — They forgot God their Savior who had done great things . . .
106:24 — They did not believe His Word but grumbled in their tents . . .
106:25 — They did not listen to the voice of the Lord . . .
106:32 — They provoked Him to wrath . . .

This is certainly a “text that preaches” because we too so often fall into this pattern, don’t we? We see God’s amazing miracles. We are astounded and blessed, and then so quickly forget about it. Sometimes I find myself scratching my head when I am facing a “mountain” or a wall. How will we ever make it through? I have seen God do so many amazing things since coming to America’s KESWICK, and yet at times it is like my ADD kicks in big-time and I forget that HE IS ABLE.

When we allow ourselves to wallow in unbelief it leads to a cynical spirit which then opens the door for us to be grumblers and complainers. We grumble at work. We grumble at church. We grumble at home. As a leader, I get discouraged sometimes when the “natives” start grumbling. Then I remember poor Moses — 3 million of them! Wow!

Forgetfulness leads to unbelief. Unbelief unchecked turns to cynicalness which leads to a grumbling heart. But if we allow it to grow and fester, we close our ears to the voice of God. We ignore the promptings of His still, small voice. We read the Word, and yet ignore what He is saying. He speaks — but we don’t even hear.

The Lord got frustrated with the people. He was determined to wipe them out. But a man named Phineas stood up and “interposed” — came between. And it says in Psalm 106:30 — “And so the plague was stayed!” You can be a Phineas today — at work — at church — at home! Maybe it means even being a Phineas in your own life. You can stop the cycle. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Lord, help us to be “remembers” today instead of forgetters.

Jennifer Sands continues to share lessons learned after the tragedy of 9/11 on today’s edition of Keswick Today. Listen to the broadcast right from our home page: http://www.americaskeswick.org

I CAN DO ALL THINGS?

I have shared with you several devotionals reflecting on the topic of “I
am not but I know I AM” . . . And today in my quiet time, the Lord
reminded me of this powerful truth . . .

“Are spiritually minded people equipped with a stress exemption? Do they
ever burn out? These might sound like heretical questions. Nevertheless,
the issue is important to consider, because if we answer the question
wrongly — in either direction — there will be significant
consequences.

Many people with great faith assume that God gives them a special
exemption to stress, overload, and burnout. It therefore comes as a
great surprise when they, too, hit the wall. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO
ME? I MUST NOT HAVE HAD ENOUGH FAITH!

Disillusionment sets in. Then discouragement. They stop ministering.
They have no permission to tell others of their pain. What to do?
Unfortunately, they sometimes find themselves trapped in a system that
provides no comfort — only judgment.

Overload, like influenza, is a non-sectarian pathogen; everyone gets a
part of this pain. It strikes indiscriminately. Believers and
unbelievers alike experience overload, just as they both experience the
flu when it comes to town. Christians have the same limits and
susceptibilities as everyone else.

Philippians 4:13 is a wonderful verse, where Paul writes, ‘I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me.’ Can you fly? Can you go six
months without eating . . . Or sleeping? Neither can you live a healthy
life chronically overloaded. God did not intend this verse to represent
a negation of life balance. Jesus did not work twenty-hour ministry
days, and He did not fix every problem in Israel. Daily He simply loved
the person standing in front of Him.

Philippians 4:13 is completely true. But we need to re-understand it,
cleansed from our modern presumptive bias that God is suspending human
limits on our behalf. We cannot do ‘all things,’ but we can do
everything the Father has ordained for us, in the strength that Christ
provides.

As it turns out, salvation solves the lostness problem — and that is of
incalculable value. But it does little to solve the overload problem.
This is not to say we don’t have deep spiritual resources that are of
immense value. But is some ways we also have a heightened sensitivity to
the pain and brokenness of the world around us. And that often hurts
unbearably.

God had His reasons for not delivering us from this type of pain. It is
best to trust His heart in the matter.” from Dr. Richard Swenson — A
Minute of Margin — Restoring Balance to Busy Lives.

“We give our family and ourselves an incredible gift when we make the
decision to live within God’s limits. It opens the door to genuine rest
in our lives.” — Tim Kimmel

Listen to KESWICK TODAY and hear the powerful testimony of Jennifer
Sands. Her husband was the pilot of the first plane to hit the World
Trade Center. Jennifer’s powerful testimony will bless your heart. You
can listen on-line @ http://www.americaskeswick.org.