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A Step I’d Rather Not Take

August 31, 2011 in Failure, True Stories with 0 Comments

I have had the distinct opportunity to witness some very funny things at my gym.  Before I begin my story, I want to tell you that I have lived a sheltered life because until July 2010 I had never stepped foot in a gym, unless you count the one time in college when one of my “friends” attempted to get me on a weight lifting program before I got married.  It obviously didn’t work.  I was pretty comfortable allowing Leah to see my concaved chest.  Ha!  Since I have never been exposed to gym life, I feel like it is a visit to the zoo where lots of surprises await me.  The other day a young couple entered the gym and very happily stepped onto the treadmills…beside each other.  How sweet.  They kept looking at each other and smiling.  I wanted to throw up.  I guess that’s one way to get rid of some calories.  After about 15 minutes of walking/googling over each other, the guy finished and began to step off the treadmill but he must have pressed the wrong button because it shot him right off the backside.  Luckily he caught himself before the treadmill belt ripped his face off.

Here’s the deal.  I am in danger every single day of doing the same thing.  Each time I step onto the treadmill, I risk falling.  I’m no different than that guy.  You are no different than that guy.

All of us are one step away from falling.  Walk carefully today.

I’m So Ashamed of Myself…

August 4, 2011 in Failure, Forgiveness, Thoughts with 2 Comments

If I have confessed my past sins to God and if I have sought reconciliation with the people from my past, then why can’t I forgive myself?  It’s a valid question since, in my opinion, people have an easier time receiving God’s forgiveness than they do forgiving themselves.  Maybe it’s because we still live with the consequences of our sin or maybe it results from being disappointed in ourselves.  I’m not sure if I have all the answers.  What makes matters worse is that the Bible never speaks concerning “forgiving yourself,” so the follower doesn’t really have a reference point…or do they?  Although the Bible never specifically mentions forgiving ourselves, the Bible provides numerous examples of people who moved on with their lives after a shameful event.  The past is the past and will never change no matter how much you beat yourself up.  If you grieve every single day of your life for the sins of your past, it still won’t change what has already been done.  Please listen to me.  It’s time to move on.  You cannot change the past, but you can change today and tomorrow and the next day if God grants you life.

  • Adam and Eve were responsible for bringing sin upon the whole human race (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12).
  • Noah brought shame on his family when he got drunk and naked in his tent (Genesis 9:18-29).
  • Sarah suggested that her husband, Abraham, have sex with her servant (and he did) so that they could have a child (Genesis 16).
  • Moses murdered an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-15) and later in his life objected to God’s will (Exodus 3-4).
  • Israel, God’s chosen people, repeatedly turned their back on God and worshiped other gods (too many occurrences to list here).
  • David, king of Israel, committed adultery and conspired in the murder of her husband (2 Samuel 11-12).
  • Solomon had it all, but still wasn’t satisfied (Ecclesiastes).
  • Hosea, one of God’s prophets to Israel, was married to a woman who became a prostitute (Hosea).
  • Jonah refused to obey God and later pouted because God allowed Gentiles to be forgiven (Jonah).
  • All of Jesus’ disciples abandoned Him during the hardest time in His life (Matthew 26:56).
  • Peter, one of Jesus’ closest friends, denied that he even knew Him (Matthew 26:69-75).
  • Saul, who later became Paul, persecuted and probably even killed Christians (Acts 8:1-3).

These characters in the Bible did some very shameful things, but they all had one thing in common – they chose to move on.  In no way am I excusing their sins, but they had no choice but to move forward with their life.  My advice to you is the same.  Confess your sin to God.  Reconcile with others.  Move on.  I know you are ashamed of what you have done, but it will be more shameful if you choose to waste the rest of your life wishing to change the past.

Forget the past so you can free yourself for the future.

Posts in this series, Erasing the Past:
Something I’d Rather Forget
A Big ‘If’
Are You Ready To Do This?
I’m So Ashamed of Myself…

A Big ‘If’

August 2, 2011 in Failure, Forgiveness, Thoughts with 5 Comments

There are no do-overs in life.  None.  Expired days and moments cannot be relived.  They are now a part of your past.  Words and actions cannot be rescinded.  Once in a lifetime opportunities have vanished.  Sinful deeds are now a part of you.  There is so much finality to the past, which often leads to ongoing feelings of guilt, shame, and regret.  How would you feel if I told you that your past could be erased?  What if the sin and shame that taints your past could be removed from your record?  You can be released from your past and I’m going to tell you how.  The apostle John writes the following words to believers in the first century, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9, NLT).  Forgiveness of your past sins is simply based on whether you are willing to agree with God about your wrongdoing and take responsibility for your disobedience.  When David’s sin of adultery and murder was discovered, he prayed these words, “ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’  And you forgave me!  All my guilt is gone” (Psalm 32:5, NLT).  In the midst of his prayer of confession, he offered advice to the godly who found themselves guilty of sin, “Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment” (Psalm 32:6, NLT).

Your first step in erasing the past is confessing your sin to God.

IF you confess, God will forgive.

Posts in this series, Erasing the Past:
Something I’d Rather Forget
A Big ‘If’
Are You Ready To Do This?
I’m So Ashamed of Myself…

Something I’d Rather Forget…

August 1, 2011 in Failure, Forgiveness, Thoughts with 2 Comments

This is the first post in a series entitled Erasing the Past.

We like to talk about the past. Well, I guess that statement is only half-true.  We actually like to discuss the good memories in our past and forget about the bad ones.  It is much easier to relive accomplishments, successes, and happy times while doing our best to erase the inabilities, failures, and disappointments.  Our trophies are on display for everyone to see, but our shame is hidden away.  We’ve become experts at hiding things, especially the things we do not want others to discover.  Here is the problem with this thought pattern.  You cannot hide the past from yourself.  No matter how hard you work at tucking the past away, it always has a way to resurface.  Why do shameful parts of our past reappear?  The answer is simple.  Guilt and shame return when the sins that haunt our past have not been properly handled.  Rather than facing the past, we bury it in a shallow grave.

There are many dangers in concealing the past, but here are two of them:

  • Unconfessed sin negatively affects our relationship with God and others.  Proverbs 28:13 reminds us that, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper….”  There can be no prosperity in the life of the one who hides the past.
  • Unconfessed sin affects our well-being.  Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked run away when no one is chasing them….”  Since the past still haunts the wicked, they always believe someone is going to find them out.  Are you living in fear of being found out?
If there are hidden issues in your past, they must be handled properly.  Choosing to keep them hidden away will certainly cause them to resurface at the most unusual times.  Over the next few days we’ll be discussing how you can finally forget the past and move on with your life.Posts in this series, Erasing the Past:
Something I’d Rather Forget
A Big ‘If’
Are You Ready To Do This?
I’m So Ashamed of Myself…

Virus Warning!

April 13, 2011 in Failure, Forgiveness, True Stories with 1 Comment

My phone showed that I had 6 text messages.  The sender?  My wife.  Her shift began in ten minutes and her computer was infected with some type of virus which was preventing her from performing any tasks.  I placed a call to her but the problem could not be solved over the phone so I hopped into my car and hurried home hoping to resolve the issue.  Upon my arrival I discovered that Leah was right.  Nothing was functioning properly on her laptop.  Using my phone I googled (what did we do before Google?) the issue and within seconds I found that this virus had been experienced by many other users in the past few weeks.  Luckily, I also found the solution.  In order to get rid of the virus I had to perform a system restore.  By definition a system restore “…allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed programs, etc., to a previous state in the event of malfunctioning or failure.”  In other words, I could return the computer to an earlier point in its life when the virus did not exist on the computer.  Ten minutes later, the virus was gone and the computer was back to normal.

Too bad life doesn’t have a system restore.  When we fail, the clock cannot be turned back.  Although past sins and wrongdoing cannot necessarily be erased,  God has provided His own way for us to be restored.  Restoration involves these three elements:

Own Up – When you’ve sinned don’t hide it, minimize it, blame-shift it, or ignore it.  Acknowledge that you have sinned against God and broken His law (Proverbs 28:13).  Ask for His forgiveness.
Get Down – Owning up to your sin should be followed by a broken and humble heart.  If the sin involved another person, you have an obligation to make things right with them.  Your worship of God will not be acceptable until you have sought forgiveness from the others involved (Matthew 5:23-24).
Move On – Confession of sin leads to cleansing.  Since the past cannot be changed and you have sought forgiveness, move on (1 John 1:9; 2:1-2).  Learn from your past sin and be careful not to repeat it.

iFell

January 5, 2011 in Determination, Failure, Funny Stories, True Stories with 0 Comments

My kids had some Christmas money left over so they decided that they wanted to buy two mini-trampolines.  These trampolines are technically considered exercise equipment, but my kids thought they could use them for an indoor circus in our living room.  They absolutely loved them.  The more I watched them jump, the more I wanted to try it out.  I asked my wife about the weight restrictions and, luckily, I checked out.  The kids thought it was funny to see ” fat daddy” jumping on the trampoline.  After a few minutes I was out of breath and stepped off which allowed the kids to continue their fun.

The next day I walked into the living room where Lexi was jumping on the trampoline.  The urge hit me again.  I had to jump.  Instead of jumping on one trampoline, I thought I would bring some creativity and jump from one trampoline to the other.  Lexi thought it was cool, that is, until my foot caught the side of the trampoline and I fell flat on my face.  She didn’t know whether to laugh or call 911.

I was not injured.  Thanks for asking.

I fell.  Oh well.  At least I tried.  Those who try and fail are better for having tried.

My Moment As a Hero

January 4, 2011 in Failure, True Stories with 1 Comment

My garage door opener broke over Christmas break.  Bummer.  I have never been a handyman (which you can read about here, here, and here) so I hate it when things break.  Instead of repairing it, I told Leah that we were just going to operate the garage door the old-fashioned way.  The way Charles Ingalls would have done it had he been alive during this era.  I have to admit that operating the garage door manually was not that bad until we arrived home one cold, snowy night.  As we pulled up close to the garage, I politely asked Leah to get out of the car and open the garage door.  I instructed her to pull up on the handle and then the door would easily slide up on the track.  Seated inside the warm car, I noticed her struggling to get the door opened so I rolled down the window and asked what was taking her so long.  After giving me a slightly dirty look, she informed me that the door would not budge.  Frustrated, I jumped out of the car while she was explaining that she had turned the handle.  She had mistakenly turned the lock…which does not have a key.  We were completely locked out of the garage and the house.  Leah’s first response was to break a window, but I needed a moment to think before taking such a drastic measure.  I contemplated ramming the car into the garage door, but then our neighbor let me borrow a screw driver and a hammer which I used to break the lock.  We were saved.  Leah embraced me and called me her hero.  Not really.

This story taught me one thing.  Failure to fix what is broken only causes more problems.

Coming Clean with God

December 1, 2010 in Failure, Forgiveness, Guilt, Relationship with God, Sin, Thoughts with 0 Comments

Whenever I need a new beginning with God, I always turn to Psalm 51.  Although the words written there are David’s specific confession for his sin of adultery, they provide a beautiful picture of a heart broken over sin and a man in pursuit of a fresh start with God.  If you need a fresh start today, speak these words to God from a humble heart.

“Wash me clean from my guilt.  Purify me from my sin.  For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.  You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just ” (Psalm 51:2-4).

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.  Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17).

When You Feel Like a Failure…

November 22, 2010 in Failure, God, Relationship with God, Thoughts with 3 Comments

Each day I’m reminded about far I am from actually living up to God’s standards and some days I honestly feel like a failure.  It seems as if I overcome one obstacle just in time for my next weakness to be exposed.  I have confidence that God is working in my life and changing me, but I’m always aware that I have a long way to go.  I’ve become accustomed to feeling a little behind and I believe a lot of Christians feel the same way.  During these times of guilt and frustration, we must remember that God does not love us based on performance.  Performance based love is human.  God’s love is supernatural.  He loves us even though we are not deserving.

Whether you measure up or not, God loves you.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6,8

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” – Ephesians 2:4, NLT

Monday Morning Hangover

October 18, 2010 in Attitude, Determination, Failure, Faith, Life, Perspective, Relationship with God, The Church, Thoughts, Transformation with 0 Comments

You left church yesterday with the best of intentions, right?  Your Pastor talked about something relevant to your life and you decided to make a change in response to the truth of God’s Word. You really meant it.  This week was going to be different…but then you woke up this morning…Monday morning.  You already feel horrible because you aren’t sure that you can make a change in your life.  Doubt starts creep in and you begin to question if you really meant it.  Before you know it, you have given up and rationalized away those feelings of yesterday.  That morning after feeling is normal for all of us, including me.  So, how do we fight off these feelings and submit to God’s work in our heart?

Feelings must be overtaken by fact.  You may not feel as if you can make the necessary change to walk in obedience to Christ, but the fact is that God “…is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us….” (Ephesians 3:20).  God’s ability to change you far outweighs your feelings of doubt.  If God began a work in your heart yesterday, He is capable of bringing it to pass today.

Yesterday, God laid the foundation.  Today, construction begins.

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