“You are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.” (Psalm 36:9)

I’m thirsty. Sometimes I don’t realize it, but I’m thirsty. Usually it’s only when my thirst grows to the extreme that I acknowledge that I’m thirsty – thirsty for the one thing that really quenches thirst: H^TO.

That’s not a misprint, H^TO: His ^Total Omnipotence. H^TO: His total power. H^TO: God’s power.

“...so that the power of Christ may work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I’m thirsty for H^TO, but more often than not, that thirst has to grow to an extreme before I go to the fountain where that thirst is quenched.

Why is it that I find myself trying to make it through the minutes of my day in my own power? Why do I do that when the Fountain is always right there by my side? And it’s the one place where my thirst can be satisfied.

I picture in my mind the little boy leaning over into the refreshing stream, mouth wide open, gulping in as much as his breath will stand – but more water ends up around him than in him. That’s the nature of a really good fountain!

When I finally do open myself to God’s H^TO I find that His power overflows, it’s always much more than I can take in. But, what I do take in is always refreshing, energizing, and just what I need to make it through the next minutes of my day.

Nutritionists tell me that I should drink the equivalent of at least eight glasses of H²O every day – that’s a lot of water. If I followed that rule I’d be drinking all day. I think that’s the point.

My spiritual nutritionist (the Holy Spirit) keeps nudging me toward the Fountain of Life – all day. I think that’s the point.

Lord, today I want Your power in a new way. I want to be aware that my thirst is not a thirst for anything other than YOU. As I face the subtle temptations of my minutes or possible the huge temptations that the world waves in my face – what I want most is to quench my thirst in YOU! Amen

As I’m reading through the New Testament book of Hebrews I am constantly challenged to “be better”. The first part of Hebrews is a lengthy argument for Jesus: He is better (He is best) than anyone or anything. To accept anything less than who Jesus is and what He wants to do in our lives is settling for less than best.

But I wonder, am I settling for less than the best in my life because my focus is on tomorrow instead of today?

You know what I mean. “Tomorrow I will…” “It can wait until tomorrow…”

Hebrews chapter three says it this way (from The Message Paraphrase of the Bible)

“So watch your step, friends. Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it’s still God’s Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.” (verses 12-14)

I find myself looking for tomorrow instead of watching today. Do you?

When I’m focused on what could happen or what I want to do tomorrow I often do not consider that God has given me NOW. How did one author put it?

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a dream, but today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the ‘Present’.”

So what should we be doing today?

First, we should be watching our steps: “So watch your step…”. Where are our choices, our words, our actions taking us today?

Second, we should be watching our thoughts: “Make sure there’s no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up…” Our thoughts are what get us into the most trouble. Every action starts with a thought. How often do I commit a sin because I simply am not taking God at His word that that sin will hurt me and cause me to trip up in my walk?

Third, we should be watching our Christian friends. “keep each other on your toes so sin doesn’t slow down your reflexes.” I notice that the passage does not tell me to condemn my friends, or talk down to them, but rather to encourage my friends to stay alert, “on their toes” so all of us will be sharp and ready for whatever God has in store for us today.

I also notice that sin dulls my senses. It slows down my reflexes. This is a HUGE concept. Not only does sin cause pain in our lives, it dulls us to what God is trying to tell us. If you read the final verses of Hebrews chapter three you see a tragic example of this truth. The very people God was trying to deliver from their rough experiences were the ones who let sin keep them from that deliverance. (Check out Hebrews 3:16-19.)

Verse fourteen of chapter three tells us to “get a grip”. “If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we’re in this with Christ for the long haul.”

It’s not just about “Today”, it’s about the “long haul”. What I do today effects not only tomorrow, but eternity. Today makes a difference in eternity.

I need to keep my grip on the things Jesus gave me when I accepted Him as my Forgiver and Boss. (Those who have attended our ACTs class will remember how to “get a grip” on God’s Word.)

One final thought…

“For as long as it’s still God’s Today”. That’s how verse thirteen begins. Think about that. It’s NEVER yesterday or tomorrow. It is ALWAYS “today”. And it’s not just “today”, it’s “God’s Today”.

The best thing I can do is to remember that TODAY BELONGS TO GOD NOT ME. He’s letting me borrow it and invest it for Him, but it still belongs to Him.

So I want to constantly remind myself today that it’s not my day, it’s HIS DAY. How will I invest today for Him?

“I’m a minister too!”

I was a little taken back and delighted at the same time that the lady across from me at the local Starbucks wanted to strike up a conversation. I love to talk to people, especially about my life calling: ministry.

She was a very nice lady, probably in her late 50’s or early 60’s. She told me that she was a “minister at large” and mentioned a “new-agey” sort of faith she subscribed to. I shared with her that my passion was helping people connect with Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with Him.

Her brief description of her “ministry” told me that she was sort of an all-faiths, all beliefs will get you there kind of minister. While I briefly shared that I believed Jesus Christ was THE Way, THE Truth, and THE life. It was not at all confrontational; it was gracious and educational on both sides of the conversation. Both of us knew in that brief moment we were not changing anyone’s world view.

The conversation ended somewhat abruptly because I received the call I had been waiting for. I gave her a churchforfamily invite card and she smiled and waved good-bye.

After my phone call I began to think about that nice lady again. Her first words were “I am a minister too!”

I wonder how many of us think of ourselves as “ministers too!”? If someone asked, would we say that we are ministers, servants?

I assume that you are a lot like me in that we most often focus on ourselves. That’s conceited. That’s self-centered. (That, by the way, had been the topic of conversation at the men’s gathering at Starbucks right before the nice lady and I began our chat. Galatians 6:26, “Let us not become conceited...”)

I’m not sure that nice lady would have known where to point me if I had asked her – all directions seemed to be OK so long as you were “good” within yourself. We on the other hand have God’s WORD to point people toward. But there is one thing I took away from that conversation:

I want to be a minister too! I want to serve everyone God places within my world. I want to minister them...serve them to Jesus.

I am an emergent blogger (and that is my real "myspace").

My son, Benji, and I have been having an ongoing conversation about the meaning of emergent and the "emergent church" movement. The more I read and listen, the more I am convinced that emergent church and emergent theology really has more to do with relevance than emerging.

Every generation, every family has dealt with, not so much issues of change, as issue of translation and interpretation. The meanings of the base thoughts do not change, but the language often does. And what’s just as important is that how people interpret the translation can effect the base thoughts most of all.

As a father of one young adult and three up-and-coming (emergent) teenagers, I am called upon to translate my values and interpret my heritage, my faith and my values into meaningful, life changing concepts that I can pass on to my heirs.

As a Pastor of a small, growing church I am called upon to translate and interpret the timeless truth of God’s Word into everyday application. With God’s help that translation and interpretation is life-changing.

So, I am an emergent blogger. And to anyone who is long suffering enough to read this space, my goal is to be relevant. We’ll see if it works!