Pathways church is embarking during this Christmas season to raise money to provide a drinking well for an entire community in Africa. Please consider helping us to reach our goal of providing living water to those in dire need. Enjoy this brief video about Pathways efforts:
PLEASE donate money for this GREAT cause directly on UBERLUMEN by clicking on the ChipIn icon on the right hand side of the site or click on icon below:
The Grand Opening for House of Speed in Orange County is this Sunday, Dec. 7 from 2-4 at Mariners Christian school. Kids can watch if they don’t want to participate. Don Beebe the founder and ex pro football player will be there. He is a great speaker and person. Please tell anyone you know that you think might have an interest in this to attend Sunday. Have them register at website houseofspeed.com
any questions?? email Denny:denny.spruce@houseofspeed.com
Mariners christian School is at:
300 Fischer Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Telephone 714.437.1700
“If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you…it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it you turn it into a blessing…it heals and turns all that it touches into happiness….every day….be made a day of thanksgiving…”-William Law
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”~Thornton Wilder
“The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”~H.U. Westermayer
Thankfulness is a state of our hearts. Practicing the state of thankfulness for EVERYTHING develops in us a heart for others and for God. Smile and embrace those around you on this day of thanks!
There has been much controversy over the concept of the Trinity. It has been tried to be explained in many ways using many analogies that ALL fall short. It has been said that philosophically God is ‘one what’ and ‘three whos’.
It is clear that throughout Scripture God is 3 and 1 at the same time held in a paradoxical tension never to be fully understood this side of heaven.
Much of the recent controversy has been from the depiction of the Trinity by Paul Young in his book The Shack despite the fact that Paul Young has made it very clear that it is a work of fiction and an allegory. In The Shack, Paul Young describes the Trinity as: “I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one.” God or ‘Papa’ in the story goes on to say: “Love and relationship. All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within Me, within God myself. Love is not the limitation; love is the flying. I am love.”
Here is a pictorial representation of the Trinity:
I don’t think we will every fully grasp nor understand the Trinity this side of heaven. I love what A.W. Tozer has said: “The doctrine of the Trinity…is truth for the heart. The fact that it cannot be satisfactorily explained, instead of being against it, is in its favor. Such a truth had to be revealed; no one could imagine it.” This quote from a GREAT book explaining basic tenets of Christianity: Without a Doubt by Samples
I have added this brief video clip of my 2 cents from a scientific and theoretical perspective to help us get our mind around the concept. (see also Beyond the Cosmos by Hugh Ross) As always please leave your comments!
I had an ‘aha’ moment several weeks ago. Most of the successful men that I know are superheros. Yes men of steel. These men are able to detach in a moment’s notice, disengage from wives and family, and ‘puff up’ and plow through any situation.
These men come from wounded back grounds. Family of origin nightmares. A distant father and an overbearing mother. At least one of their parents is inevitably an alcoholic or worse. At a VERY early age these men hide behind perfection. When the drunk mom and the distant dad become too much, they amp up and shut off ANY emotions from the outside world and OVER achieve, over and over again.
Over and over again, I hear the same story–abandoned by dad and living with a crazy mom who must spend all her energy raising the prodigal younger brother so the eldest son emerges to save the day: captain of the football, track, AND wrestling team….and did I mention validictorian? abandoned by a distant dad and living with a drunk mom too spent to supervise the youngest and last kid in the house so this son rises up to MVP of the water polo team, etc. SAME story different details!
When these men grow up it is no surprise that they live Thoreau’s ‘quiet lives of desperation’ sealed off from any emotions from any chance of intimacy and deep meaningful relationships.
I was amazed by listening to the author of “The Shack” (a MUST read) who described himselft as just such a man hiding his baggage-his “shack”, as he called it, behind him while he hid his true brokenness from the world by perfectionism.
Please enjoy this presentation regarding so many men’s hidden secret: They are superhero’s.
During this CRAZY financial time, this is a GREAT message from my friend Bill’s newsletter:
Christian Soul Care Devotional
Bill Gaultiere
Some time ago I was meeting with Dallas Willard and in the course of our conversation he asked me, “If you had one word to describe Jesus what would it be?”
How would you answer that question? Close your eyes for a moment and consider this. Write down the first words that come to mind. If you could only use one word to describe Jesus what would it be?
Have you stopped reading this devotional so you can give your own answer?! Go ahead take a moment now….
Jesus is the Word of all words! His is the name above all names. He is so magnificent and multi-faceted how could we pin him down to just one word! And yet, I found this to be a very meaningful exercise. The words we pick and the ones we don’t pick may have something to say about our relationship with him.
Here are the words I thought of… Jesus is… Love… Holy… Lord… Teacher… Risen… Healer… (These areall good words to describe Jesus.)
Then Dallas looked into my eyes and shared with me his word. You need to know that this was a special moment for me. He’s my key mentor. I’ve read every book he’s written more than once. I’ve listened (many times) to every audio teaching series of his I can find. In the last six years he has discipled me to Jesus in ways that have impacted all that I am and everything that I do as a Christian, husband, father, friend, psychologist, minister, writer…
What one word would Dallas Willard use to describe Jesus? “Relaxed.”
Relaxed?
I would have never thought of that word! But ever since that conversation I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Jesus being relaxed.
Think about it. Jesus had far and away the most important and dangerous mission that any human being has ever had or ever will have. He had to wait 18 years to begin working on his calling and then he had just three years of public ministry to fulfill it. And yet Jesus was relaxed!
Jesus needed to convince a large number people that although he was merely a man he was also the unique Son of God. And his followers needed to be so confident in him as their Lord and Savior that they would give their lives to lead other people to know him – even to the point of torture and death. And yet Jesus was relaxed!
Jesus could only be in one location at a time. And when he left one city to go to another he left behind people that hadn’t been healed or discipled (Matthew 13:58). Most people – even his own family at first – rejected him and his message (Luke 4:28-30, Mark 3:20, 31-34). Many of the people he discipled deserted him (John 6:66). And even his faithful disciples didn’t understand who he was until after he rose from the dead (Mark 8:31-33)! And yet Jesus was relaxed!
The fate of all humankind – past, present, and future – depended on Jesus successfully completing his gospel mission! And yet Jesus remained relaxed!
When I have big responsibilities I start to feel overwhelmed… When I am stressed by situations anxious feelings rise up within me… When I am criticized or rejected I am tempted to react by feeling bad about myself or getting angry… When I have lots to do I tend to hurry…
How did Jesus remain at peace when he was under pressures much, much harder than I face? He practiced what he preached! He lived in the same “easy yoke” that he offers to us. Jesus was the first disciple: he apprenticed himself to the Father, learning to live out the things he would later teach (think of Jesus’ 18 hidden years from ages 12 to 30 as his discipleship training program).
Our sinless Lord “grew” (Luke 2:52); he “learned” (Hebrews 5:8) how to…
· Maintain moment-by-moment submission to God’s will, never saying or doing anything except as the Father directed him (John 6:38, 12:50).
· Pray without ceasing (John 11:42, 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
· Be so dependent upon the Holy Spirit as to be filled with his presence and power without limit (John 3:34).
· Bless those that cursed him (Luke 22:34).
In my discipleship to Jesus I am learning how to follow his example and walk with him in his “easy yoke,” his “unforced rhythms of grace” (Matthew 11:28, MSG). And so more and more I too am relaxed!
If Kristi or I can offer you counseling or spiritual direction call us at 949-262-3699.
The famous missionary to inland China wrote a book titled: Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.
Hudson Taylor had a difficult and amazing life. At one point in his life, he had become very depressed, even contemplating suicide due to so many frustrations in the mission field of China. He shared his frustrations and concerns with a friend who wrote to him in 1869 the words that forever transformed Hudson Taylor. Here are the words that describe Hudson Taylor’s spiritual ‘secret’:
“I seem as if the first glimmers of the dawn of a glorious day has risen upon me…I seem to have supped only that which can fully satisfy…To let my loving Saviour work in me His will…abiding, not striving or struggling; looking off unto Him; trusting Him for present power…resting in the love of an almighty Saviour in the joy of a complete salvation…Not striving to have faith, or to increase my faith but a looking at the faithful one seems all we need. A resting in the Loved One entirely, for time, for eternity. It does not appear to me as anything new, only formerly misunderstood.”-John McCarthy
Hudson Taylor had found his spiritual secret. It was the exchanged life–no longer I but Christ living in me.The One Year Christian History devotional, pg 497
“I have been crucified with Christ. I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”-Galatians 2:19-20
My kids loved this one and we periodically do this experiment in our backyard.
Here is a GREAT summary from Dave about Men on the Path:
Let me start by saying I really miss seeing some of you guys on Wednesday mornings.
Bucky always gives us a little information about the culture of the time so we can better understand the meaning of the scripture verses we talk about. One part of his explanation really got my attention. Bucky explained how, in Jesus’ time, a man proposed to a woman by offering her a cup. If she drank from the cup, it meant she accepted, the engagement began and the man would then go home to build a room onto his father’s house. It made me think, so how did we go from offering a cup to a mandatory three carats? Why does a woman need such a big, bright, shiny object, and, why do we feel the need to give it to her?
Last Wednesday we discussed the first six verses of John 14, which starts with, “Do not let your hearts be troubled; Trust in God; trust also in me,” and ends with, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes through the Father except through me.” How do Jesus’ words bring comfort to your heart as you read and reflect on them? Think about it for a few minutes. For some on Wednesday, going to heaven meant seeing loved ones again while others talked about true freedom from worries and fears, and about seeing God’s face.
These verses are great messages for us as we live in Orange County – an area where so many are hearts are troubled because of their trust in the things of this world (i.e. the real estate and the stock markets). This is southern California, right? Aren’t we supposed to be “the place” where everyone wants to live so housing values should never decline? And the stock market; when is the last time it went spiraling downward like this? If we cannot trust in our real estate and stock markets then what can we trust in? Well, we can trust in God’s promise He has a plan for us that is bigger than anything this world has to offer. He has prepared a place for us in heaven. All we need to do is be born again; become a new creation. In reading, “My Utmost for His Highest,” this morning it said we are not born again and our souls are not saved unless our hearts no longer desire the things of the past. Quite a different approach than, pray a prayer and go to heaven. Personally, I choose to believe Oswald Chambers. When you believe in your heart, change will come and fears will subside. When God looks down is He able to tell the difference between your lifestyle and the non-believer’s? Maybe we should go back to offering cups.
In His Service,
Dave
Ever since the 1st Century church emerged and their miracle and healing stories were documented in the book of Acts et al, the church has been filled with such stories. There has been a ground swell in Christianity to focus again on the early Church model of miracles and healings. What are your thoughts about this? JP Moreland in his wonderful book, The Kingdom Triangle, points out and discusses this epidemic of miracles and healings occurring worldwide in Christianity noting that American Christianity continues to fall behind in this resurgence of the early Church model of Christianity.
We have been posting interviews and stories regarding miracles and healings as well. The posts have been generated by a missionary friend who has experienced these miracles and healings first hand. He has shifted his ministry from the traditional evangelical Christian model of the last 50 years to a miracle and healing ministry, and he has seen incredible things. This is yet another audio clip of such miracles and healings from a mentor of his.
This brief audio clip is from Pastor Bill Johnson at Bethel Church in Redding, CA. He tells numerous stories of miracles and healings.
Do you believe it? What do you think? Please click on the title of this post and then scroll down to leave your comments.
“Now tell me again who is blue and who is red?”
Racist, stupid, bigoted, evil….these are some of the words used to describe ‘us’ by ‘them’.
Intolerant, arrogant, angry, blind….these are some of the words used to describe ‘them’ by ‘us’.
Something has gone terribly wrong here.
We worship a God who is BIGGER than ALL of THAT!
We follow a God who became a man who was beaten, whipped, tortured, mocked by the ruling government of his day.
We cherish the LOVE of a God who was mocked by guards who made him wear a robe that symbolized royalty, KINGSHIP as they laughted and scorned and cried out, “King of the Jews! Ha Ha Ha!”
The robe he wore was PURPLE: The color of KINGSHIP.
We are NOT blue; we are NOT red. We ARE the PURPLE people. We follow and worship the God in the PURPLE robe who loves each of us as if we are the ONLY person in the universe.
Share with us your comments after you listen to Rob Bell’s teaching titled: Beware the Dogs and Greg Boyd’s teaching titled: Defying Tanks. These are 2 of the MOST challenging sermons that I have heard. After you listen, PLEASE share your thoughts on some practical and specific ways that we can transform our world!
Our topic this week was about LOVING your spouse. In our OC world everyone is looking for more, coveting, and thinking that ‘the grass is always greener’. If you want a GREAT marriage, you have to stop looking at the other lawns and stop and water your own grass! i.e. a GREAT marriage takes SACRIFICE and HARD WORK and COMMITTMENT to LOVE her with CHRIST’S LOVE!
Our Scripture for this week is: Ephesians 5:25-33
Here is Dave’s summary email:
| I want to thank Robby for being a man of courage; it isn’t easy getting up in front of a bunch of men when you are the youngest and possibly the least experienced in the group regarding the topic you were speaking on. Robby spoke on Ephesians 5:25-33. If you haven’t read it in a while please do so. It offers great marital advice. Robby told us how he sees love – as an action word, not a feeling. Love, Robby said, is not about us but about other people. Verse 25 states, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Then, smack dab in the middle of those verses is the line, “He who loves his wife loves himself.” Wow, pretty powerful, huh?
Some things that went around the room during our discussion time were: – Love has nothing to do with the physical and everything to do with the heart – Jesus is our love coach – Marriages get neglected in the name of material success – Show love by praying with and for one another; you cannot be angry with someone if you are praying with/for them – Know your spouse’s “love language,” whether it is gifts, affirmation, physical touch, time or service (from Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages) – Spend some quality, uninterruptible time on the couch with your spouse when you first get home from work (“couch time”) – Get rid of your television and your children’s cell phones – If together, we can keep our eyes focused on Jesus rather than the imperfect human beings we are, and ask Him to love our spouse through us, we will grow closer to Him and to our spouse – as you both grow closer to Christ you grow closer to each other…. As always, please share your thoughts/comments with us!
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Marriage is hard work, but it is worth the effort.
If you are having a hard time with your marriage:
1. Don’t give up! Studies show that divorce can be truly devastating to you, your spouse, and especially your kids.1 2
2. Get professional help! Don’t try and work through your issues on
your own. Read these books, go to marriage retreats, and get into
consistent marriage counseling.
3. Set down healthy patterns! Find or read about good patterns and then follow them.
RESOURCES:
BOOKS TO READ:
1. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
2. His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Hartley
3. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John M. Gottman
4. Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires,The Respect He Desperately Needsby Emerson Eggerichs
5. Night Light: A Devotional for Couples by the Dobson’s
As always, PLEASE share with us your insights and comments below.
This is the 3rd and final part of the 3 part interview with Dave. This is the grand finale! Dave shares with us the conclusion to his incredible journey into the open arms of Jesus.
Please share with us your thoughts/comments below.
Here is PART 2 of 3. This is the story of Dave. In this part, Dave shares the truth about sin and his journey to reaching ‘rock bottom’. Sin starts small and grows and grows. Please share with us your thoughts about this PART 2 of Dave’s journey.
Please enjoy listening to Dave tell his AMAZING faith journey. This first of three parts points out the OC lifestyle as seen by a Jersey boy (and the world). A helpful reminder that we live in an incredibly materialistic place. Dave has become an incredible man of faith through his journey. Here are a few words from Dave:
“I was thinking about how much my present day situation fits with today’s lesson of “are you enough?” If you think about it, if I paid attention to the world around me, the OC lifestyle would definitely tell me I wasn’t nearly enough. I…have no assets other than a 2001 Nissan Sentra and live pretty much paycheck to paycheck (mainly due to restitution). But, because I follow God and not the world, I have a genuine smile on face and countless blessings. It is amazing how little you really need. If we look back only about 50 years, how big were our parents’ and grandparents’ homes? How many baths did they have? Life was smaller and better but Satan is out there convincing many that bigger is better and what they have isn’t good enough. People take their eyes off of God and look at what others have…”
Please share with us your thoughts.
| Here are the notes from Dave on Men’s Group Topic #5: Prayer
On Wednesday we reviewed Luke 11:5-13 and Luke 18:1-7 (please read, or re-read them before continuing). Bucky makes so many great points each week it is a challenge to write about just one or two. I selfishly get to pick the ones that touch my heart and pray they will touch yours, too. We all know where Bucky’s heart is on the subject of prayer because he stated on Wednesday, “the best thing we could do is pray.” I’ve been blessed to be able to attend a few events with Bucky and one thing he makes sure happens is that prayer is part of the event. For example, after serving those in need at the City of Hope shelter a couple of months ago we stood in front of the door and Bucky led us in prayer. Bucky often says how he walks around the Northwood neighborhood and prays before service. So it did not surprise me when our discussion this week focused on prayer. When all is said and done if we do not become men of prayer we will never know God. We can “study” His word all we want but we will never know Him. Prayer is nothing more than talking to God; it is not ceremonial or ritualistic; it is a conversation with our Lord and Savior. Bucky said we can go through the routine of prayer but if it is just rote that is disconnected from your heart it will not accomplish anything. Prayer needs a willing and wanting heart. Getting on your knees at the beginning and/or end of each day and praying is something to be done not out of “duty” but out of desire. How else can you get to know God if you do not talk to Him? Another point Bucky made was that each morning when the disciples awoke they usually found Jesus out alone, praying. He was talking to His Abba. Jesus’ Abba is our Abba, too. The point of Luke 11:5-13, is to show us God isn’t a grouchy Father, but a Good Neighbor; the One we can talk to anytime, anywhere. If we knock, He will answer. God is always there for us. A little while back Bill Gaultiere had Cynthia and me demonstrate the “prayer hug” we do almost every morning. It is amazing how Cynthia looks forward to starting her day knowing I’ve cared enough to embrace her and whisper my prayer to God in her ear. As men, God wants us to be the spiritual heads of our households. The best thing we can do for our families doesn’t involve anything in this world (no college funds, hedge funds, mutual funds, etc.); it is prayer. Try it, and like the woman in Luke 18:1-7, do not give up; continue to pray. Remember it is in His timing not ours. |
I had the honor to teach at Men of Influence this week. This is the men’s group at Mariners Church that I used to go to until I moved over to Men on the Path at Pathways Church. It is an amazing group of men, and they have chosen an AMAZING book to go through: Prayer is Invading the Impossible by Hayford. We discussed these questions:
I mentioned these 2 books as GREAT resources:
Please enjoy my brief audio teaching and slides, and as always, please share your comments!
Please enjoy this audio of Bucky’s teaching about servanthood and here is Dave’s summary:
Please take a few minutes and re-read John 13. Then use your remaining time to reflect on what we learned from each other today:
Can you see the correlation between our teacher and the disciples’ Teacher? Bucky leads by personal example with humility. That is why we all love and respect Bucky. He is transparent; he is not afraid to make his life an open book. We don’t see Bucky as “Super Pastor,” but as one of us. Well, Jesus desires that same love and respect from us. It just takes time guys; are you ready to give it?
Share what you learned this week with a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member. When they see you lead with humility they will want what you have.