There are so many things that I enjoy about ministry: baby dedications, weddings, water baptisms, people responding to the message, new believers, counseling, praying and believing with someone for a miracle, children and youth praising God, seeing community after a service, engaging people in conversation at my favorite coffee place and the number 1... praying with someone to receive Jesus for the first time. There is nothing better than being in a position to talk about Jesus and His love for all. I hunger for those opportunities.

There are also some things that bother me about ministry as well, and though the list isn't long I find that I dwell on them more than I probably should. Some of them are... pretenders, apathetic Christians, gossipers, antagonists, and people who use Jesus as an add on.

Jesus is so much more than just another accessory that we add to our lives! He is more than just another application we install. He is the King of creation, the One who Was and Is and Is to come! He's our Savior, Deliverer, and Friend who will never abandon us. He needs and wants to be the main operating system of our lives!

Far too often I see people use God like an application.

I need help on this test I didn't study for... click Jesus app.

My life is falling apart... click prayer app.

My friend is in the hospital in critical condition... click call the pastor app.

It's not that any of those things are wrong, but, too often these people don't acknowledge Jesus at any other time in their lives - not even when God in His Grace answers them and does the miraculous.

God desires to be included and involved in every aspect of our lives! The good, ordinary, and exciting parts of our week as well as the tough and painful parts. He gave us His Son so that we could be in constant relationship with Him. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit as a guide, a counselor, encourager, and comforter. He isn't an application we install and click when we need Him! He becomes the Operating System we install to help us fulfill the purpose and plan He's created us for. (Ps. 139)

Take a moment right now and ask the Spirit of the Living God to be a part of every aspect of your life and not just an application you use when you need help.

I now have GPS on my cell phone and I have to tell you that I love that feature. I like it so much that I have actually used it when I knew how to get to where I was going. I have entered the realm of the GPS users and this has saved me time, money and frustration.

There is no more looking on google maps or asking for directions - which goes against the grain for most guys. I simply type the address in my phone and hit submit and the directions are at my finger tips. What I truly love about this feature is that when I get off tract or take a wrong turn I don't get yelled at or called names, I just get this soft voice telling me that she is "recalculating", "looking for an alternate route" or "turn around" and get back on the right road. I find myself smiling as I hear the voice on my phone say, "recalculating". I know everything is okay because she will get me where I need to be.

When we choose to follow Jesus, accepting the fact that we are lost without Him and He is the director of our lives, we are given an internal GPS. This is exciting news because no matter where you are at, or what you are doing or how lost you may feel, our internal GPS will guide us and lead us to our destination. God's Positioning System (the Holy Spirit) has been installed in us and His purpose is to get us to our final destination.

Here is what Jesus said,

"But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate (comforter, encourager, counselor) won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you" John 16:7

Like our car or phone GPS, the Holy Spirit daily directs and guides us and when we get off track He gently reminds us that we have gotten off course and that if we'll follow His directions He will get us back on the right path. No matter how many times we stray, take the wrong exit, try a short cut, or simply try to do it by ourselves, He is always available to re-direct us if we'll simple ask. And... there is never any yelling or name calling when we mess up. The Spirit of God is in us to help guide us in this life to accomplish our purpose, fulfill our destiny and get us to our final destination - eternal life with God, Himself.

Respond today to your internal GPS and allow Him to guide you. If you've gotten off track, ask for His forgiveness and follow His recalculated plans for your future.

So I went back and read some of my postings from last year and I have definitely slacked. I guess I will need to keep these simple, short, insightful and update more frequently. My prayer for you is that 2010 be filled with the wonder and awe of God and that you know and show His love everywhere you go. If you are still breathing God has something planned for your life this year! Be a light everywhere you go and change the temperature of every room you enter because the Holy Spirit has come upon you!

Have a blessed New Year!

How is it that we can't seem to get a long?

What happened to:

"Treat others the way you want them to treat you"
"Don't look at the speck of dust in your brothers eye without first removing the plank from your own eye"
"Look at others as better than yourself"
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
"in humility consider others better than yourselves."

We do the complete opposite of these statements! We don't care about others! Every man, woman and child for themselves seems to be our motto.
We judge people around us because of the way they look, act, smell, where they shop, what kind of car they drive or where they go to church or even if they go to church.
We treat others like crap because we think we are better then they are and when people treat us that way we are shocked and surprised!

Do we really think these principles don't apply to us today. Do we think that the principle "you reap what you sow" doesn't really mean what it says?

What is interesting about these principles is that they apply to everyone! It doesn't matter what your religious beliefs are, or where you live, or what color your skin is...the principles work regardless.

So why don't we follow them and why can't we all just get along?

I have a friend who loves to ride his motorcycle and talk about rides, the new equipment he's purchased for his bike, the adventure of a trip and even the accidents that he's seen or heard about. One thing that he emphasizes when driving a motorcycle is, "what you focus on you will end up hitting".  In other words, when you are driving a cycle (or a car for that matter) and you focus your attention on a pot hole, a dead possum or the edge of a steep embankment, your tendency is to follow with the rest of your body. Now this isn't a bad situation if it's a possum or a pot hole (worse for your transportation than anything else) but if your staring down the edge of a cliff it could be fatal for both you and your vehicle! Instead, look up ahead to where you want to go and not on what you don't want to hit.

There are many times in our lives where we tend to focus on the negative, frustrating or depressing things that are going on all around us. It may be your job, your city, a marriage, your school, your church, friends, favorite sports team or country.  Whatever it is, we end up focusing on those situations and we find ourselves headed for something we don't want to hit. We end up being negative, frustrated and depressed. We can ALWAYS find the problems around us and get caught focusing on them OR we can look past them, up ahead, and see the good things around the corner, the light at the end of the tunnel, the beauty in the sunset, and enjoy the life that we have the privilege of living. Sure we will encounter some bumps, potholes and possums along the way, that's a part of life! Just don't focus all your time and energy on them and worrying about things you can't change! Instead, focus your attention on Christ who reminds us to "give all our worries and cares to Him" and aim at fulfilling the task that Jesus gave us to do. Love others.

Ask yourself these questions: What am I aiming at? What am I focusing my attention on?

Remember, it's always best to look at where you want to go- up a head - instead of what's right in front of you. You WILL hit what you aim at.

I don't know how you feel about religion, but I hate it! It sucks the life and love out of a person. Religion does the very opposite of what Jesus was all about and taught us by His example here on earth; to Love Out Loud (LOL). Religion causes people to caught up in a tangled web of rules, laws, words and indifference.

I was reading this morning in Luke 13 and verse 14 just hit me. It says, "Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "there are six days for work. so come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath"."

I sat in my chair and thought, "Are you kidding me! This woman was crippled for 18 years and Jesus, in an instant, felt compassion on her and healed her, but the religious people got angry because He did it on the wrong day!" I'm thinking, why didn't these religious leaders care enough to heal her on one of the other six days? Instead of loving, caring and being excited for this woman's miracle they are furious.

Religion is dangerous! It sucks and it's wrong. We are called by God to love one another, treat each other the way we want to be treated and care for those who need help. Be very careful not to get caught up in "religion" but develop your relationship with the One who loves ALL of us and showed us how to Love Out Loud.

When there is no vision what happens? People perish! Not physically die, but people lose hope, excitement, zeal and basically get frustrated. And when that happens you begin to slowly die on the inside. When there is no movement, nothing to look forward to, people lose the desire to hang on and fight. Life, church, work, family, whatever, becomes stale and stagnant, and if it's stagnant long enough it starts to stink and the stink will cause people to move! Where there is no vision there is no hope, no life, and no fight. Without hope, life and fight we begin to shut down, get sick and eventually die.

We are all built with an inner desire to move toward something that is exciting, alive, and fresh. It gives us hope, a sense of purpose, a hunger and a passion to fight on.
Passion defined is divine enthusiasm. It's what keeps you driving even when the tires are flat!
In Habakkuk 2:2 it says, "Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by".
When there is a vision that is clear it lets others know that there is life, there are goals we are shooting for , and there is purpose behind what we are doing. There is excitement in the air and it becomes contagious. Everyone wants to be a part of something that is flowing, growing and alive. It's how we were created.

Seriously take some time and ask yourself these questions:

What is my vision?
What am I shooting for?
Do I have goals?
What is my purpose and my passion?

Remember, If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.

My passion is students. My purpose is student ministry.

I thought I'd take some time and share some of my thoughts, rants, quotes and encouragement from the past year.  I began to journal a little over a year and a half ago and although the format has changed many times over that span the idea has remained the same - to put on paper my thoughts, ideas, encouragements and plans to look back on.   Peter says, "I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder." Journaling, for me, is a way to stir myself up by remembering.  Here is what "stirs me up"...

"If you keep doing what you have always done you will have what you have always had!"

If you don't stand for something you will fall for everything.

The things I am tempted to do is NOT who I am.

What you focus on you will always hit.

Everyone follows someone; I am just trying to follow Jesus.

If it's not worth dying for, it's definitely not worth living for!

If you'll begin to ask God new questions you'll begin to get new answers.

I'm not perfect, but I'm not pretending either! I'm no poser! (thanks Ed)

Life is not about finding yourself but about finding the person God created you to be.

"We don't really believe that God's love is that powerful because if we did we'd behave differently!" (Dan Merchant)

SIN - it will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you're willing to pay."

You cannot keep your eyes on God and your circumstances at the same time. You need to choose which one you will focus on.

"Innovation, when not tethered to the truth of the Gospel, leads to heresy." Mark Driscoll

Serve something greater than Yourself. In doing so you will receive what you need, want and desire.

If you made it this far I hope you found some encouragement, insight and hope in the things that have blessed my life and stirred me up over the past year. 

Stir yourself up by remembering the good things that God has done in your life and is going to do in the days ahead.

Be encouraged, 

Derrick

Speaking of New - it's the end of 2008 and the New Year is here! I LIKE NEW! I think everyone likes new! New car, new ipod, new cell phone, new clothes, new relationship, new Mac Book, new baby, new TV series, new, well, you get the idea, most everyone likes new things. We get tired, easily, with what we have and the desire for new begins to take over. We have to get our hands on what's new. That is one of the reasons why so many of us look forward to a New Year. It's something fresh, different, and exciting. Maybe your 2008 was not so great, so 2009 gives you a new hope, a new start, and chance to make life better. My prayer, for all of us, is that our goals for the New Year would be to be better men, woman, husbands, wives, children, students and ultimately better people than we've been in the past. To strive to be better in our relationship with God, with our families and with the people we are connected with on a regular basis. If we make that our New Years resolution, our life WILL be better in the new year. For me, I am making it a priority to be more commited to God, more commited to my family and church, and more commited to the city of Madison. I like new! And I am eagerly anticipating the newness that 2009 will bring.
Have a great New Year as you experience God, relationships and ideas in a whole new way! Be encouraged, it's a New Year!