I remember the day clearly. Nancy and I had taken the short boat ride out to a memorial platform, listening to a brief introduction and peered over the sidebars to watch oil leaking from the remains of the USS Arizona beneath us. Of course, we were memorializing that fateful day in December, 1941, when the United States stood on the brink of defeat because of her unpreparedness. Admirals, generals and citizens alike were caught sleeping as a surprise attack shocked our country, vowing we would be ready next time. Several disasters and seventy years later, our preparedness is still lacking and this has motivated me to devote 2012 to the study of the Book of Revelation and the last days. The Word of God is packed with warnings of God’s pending judgment upon individuals and nations…unfortunately the world still remains lethargic and unprepared, despite the warding provided by the Lord Himself.

Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ stated the certainty of His return, but gave no detail as to dates. Matthew 24:36 remains one of the most misunderstood and misused passages in the Bible, but is nonetheless true; “ ‘No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.’ ” Even the angels do not posses this information. And because the timeline is uncertain, believers are told to remain in a constant state of alert in preparation for two forms of judgment.

The Judgment of Israel

Matthew 24-25, often called the Olivet Discourse, tells us that prior to the return of Christ, the world would resemble an era just prior to the flood in the days of Noah, (24:37). In those days, the populace would be enjoying their food, drink and opulent lifestyles while Noah and his family were building the Ark. For 120 years, Noah’s warning cries landed on deaf ears…until the rains came. Likewise, at the second coming of Christ, the wicked will be removed by destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the saved will remain to populate 1000 years of Christ’s Millennial Reign, (24:40-41). 

To skillfully demonstrate the need for staying alert, our Lord uses a series of parables, primarily calling the nation of Israel to wake up. The Parable of the Goodman describes the severance of saved Jewish survivors from unsaved Jewish survivors at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation. Some Jews will have their hearts and hopes set on Christ; unfortunately, the majority will remain looking for their messiah’s return and place their hope in a false Christ and perish with him.

The Judgment of the Gentiles

At the conclusion of the Tribulation Period, Christ will sit on the Throne of David and also separate the unsaved Gentiles from the saved as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Saved Gentiles will enter into millennial joy and eternal life (25:34, 46); unsaved gentiles will be cast into a place of eternal punishment originally designed for the Devil and his angels, (25:41). What is important about the concluding section of the Olivet Discourse is that only the Chief Shepherd can infallibly distinguish between the saved and the lost, (25:32-33). 

Threefold Call for All Christians

Allow me to conclude by returning to another Parable shared by our Lord, the Parable of the Fig Tree, (24:32-35). Read it carefully and the message is alarming. Our Lord is telling the disciples that when a tree blooms in the spring, we know summer is around the corner. And just as God programmed indicators into nature, He also programmed into prophetic history certain time indicators of future events. I believe it means that all the previously listed signs in the Olivet Discourse will continue and expand throughout the church age and ultimately reach a climax at the end of the age and that is the generation who will witness this fulfillment. But as the culmination of the ages draws near, Christians must head a threefold call: “Keep watching; stay ready; keep serving.” 

So then, does it make a difference how I live? Does it make a difference if I am a good, helpful, honest, faithful, and loving person? It will not make a difference in your bank account or in your chances for fame and fortune. But sooner or later, we can learn as Solomon did, that these are the kinds of things that really matter. “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

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It matters that we learn how to share our lives with others, making them and our world different because of what God is doing in us, and we are becoming. It matters if we learn to recognize that the pleasures of every day (food, work, and friendships) are simply expressions of God’s presence in our lives and His wonderful desire to meet all of our needs.

I have stood at the Grand Canyon and have seen this massive gorge that has been cut by the mighty Colorado River. To the casual observer, it would seem that nothing on earth is harder than rock and nothing easier to divert than water. Yet, over the centuries, the water has won the battle, cutting into and reshaping the rock. No one drop of water is stronger than rock, but each one contributed to the ultimate victory. So it is with Christians in life. Shall we remain trapped in Rat Race thinking, wondering if we could ever have an impact or will we instead slowly seek to change our world, by stepping back and resting in the power of Almighty God, who will change us – one person at a time.

There was once a starfish that lived in the ocean. “Pardon me,” he said to the whale. “Could you tell me where I can find the sea?”

“You’re already in the sea,” replied the whale. “It’s all around you.”

“This?” replied the starfish. “This is just the ocean. I’m looking for the sea.”

The frustrated starfish swam away to continue searching for the sea.

“Look no further,” yelled the wise old whale after him. “Seaing is a matter of seeing!”

As you make the transition in how you view your life, you will probably remain the same person on the outside. You may keep the same job and the same relationships. You may still get angry and impatient sometimes, and there may be occasions when you feel sad or disappointed. But remember, your transformation happens on the inside through God’s help. You will look at your life in a different way and see things with new insight and greater clarity as God shows you His perspective and helps you keep each thought under His control.

An important truth we sometimes forget is that as part of our “being,” our life is to revolve around the Lord. Unfortunately for many, when Jesus comes into their lives, they say, “O.K., now my eternal destiny is taken care of, so I’ll live the Christian life the best I can.” We set Jesus aside as someone who can help us achieve our goals and assist us when we get into trouble. In general, He becomes our servant, rather than we His. So let’s get back to basics again. Jesus needs to be at the center of our life. He needs to be integral to all we do. He, not our desires, becomes our plumb line. He sets the standards. Say it any way you wish, the bottom line is, Who is in control of your life? – you or the Lord?

When you are able to answer “the Lord,” you are well on your way to being all God wants you to be and to discovering the wonderful, abundant life He has for you. In so doing, you can avoid the pressures the world tries to put on you, the traps of the Enemy, and the many frustrations of the Rat Race. May the Lord help you stay in His race for you, so that you may be able to say with Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

Psychologists have a term to describe people who are caught up in the Rat Race. The term is obsessive-compulsive. Such people may think they are doing all right in life because they get so much accomplished. But in reality they may be stressed out, critical, and driven by all the things they “ought” to do. They aren’t satisfied with their own performance or that of others. Rarely can they accomplish enough. This mindset leaves them with unfinished projects—partially read books, half-completed tasks—that have gotten set aside. Something else came up that seems a higher priority. The resulting frustration and emotional strain often cause them to crash and take others with them on the way down.

 

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Have you ever been so busy, so excited about where you’re going, and so consumed with what is on your plate at that moment in time, that you forgot about the destination? Sometimes we are running our own race and the littlest things of life can throw us off stride if we are not focusing on the finish line. Therefore, what every child of God needs, in order to best facilitate their race, is a life map.

We can find three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who have no idea at all what’s happening. The last two types are very frustrating lifestyles. But when a person has a life map, frustration is reduced, James wrote concerning the double-minded man, “That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:7). Divided loyalty and divided focus produce frustration. So what are the basics to finding your life map? I believe there are four steps.

           

Finding Your Life Map

 

            1. Spend time alone with God. One reason why we find ourselves living life without direction is our busyness. “I’m too busy to stop, too busy to plan … too busy to even read my Bible.” You’re on a plane with no navigator, making record time, but you have no idea where you’re going. We are told, “ ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’ ” (Psalm 46:10). We have to stop and listen; that may mean turning off the television or computer. You may have to go for a long walk. I do not know what the answer will be for you, but I know it must include time with God or you will attempt to formulate this life map under your own power.

            2. Identify and understand your giftedness. In Romans 12:6 we learn that, “we have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.” Notice who gives you these gifts—God. We don’t get to choose, we are not given a menu at the time of our salvation. And genuine fulfillment comes when we can both identify and understand how God has made us. He would never gift you in one way and then lead your life in a totally different direction where you would ignore your giftedness.

            When you get to heaven, God is not going to ask you, “Why weren’t you more like Billy Graham?” He’s not going to say, “I wished you had been a better parent like James Dobson.” And He won’t even analyze, “Why weren’t you a greater leader like Moses or Joshua?” He will want to know why you weren’t more like He created you to be, and for which you had the potential to be. But instead you got sidetracked into the Rat Race through apathy, fear, distractions, or any of the number of other of life’s detours.

            3. Review your past history and experiences. Do you realize that God will use your circumstance and your problem to help others who are struggling with the same pain? Speaking of God, Paul writes 2 Corinthians 1:4, “[He] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Even as you read this passage, God probably brought to mind something in your past that He allowed to happen, so that you could use it to help others. Don’t be afraid of your past; use it for God’s glory.

            4. Determine your priorities. You will not have time for everything. You think you do, but you don’t. So there will be a definite need to prioritize if you ever plan to discover your life map.  You do this by asking yourself, “What should I be doing that is going to have eternal implications?” Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 6:20, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy.”

            Apart from Almighty God and His redemptive plan, there are only two things that are going to last forever—God’s Word and God’s people. I must pour myself into learning and growing in my Bible understanding. I must recognize that how I spend my time now may determine where my family, friends, and associates will be spending their eternity. Regardless of your profession, your educational goals, the place where you choose to live, if you are a child of God, your life map will include the Bible and people.

            My personal life map is shaped by three distinct desires. First, I desire to be a man of God and to serve Him with a joy and enthusiasm that is contagious to the people around me. Second, I want to raise a godly family, in which Nancy, my wife, feels love and security, and our kids and grandkids sense support and encouragement. Lastly, I choose to invest my life in the ministry. There are many vocations that I have admired and studied, but I’ll never forget what my brother-in-law said to me over two decades ago, “Glen, if God wants you in the ministry and you don’t, you’ll be miserable.” Jack, you were right. So at the end of my life, when I stand before the Lord of Lords, I too will be able to say, ‘I was not disobedient to the vision You gave me.”

            O.K. You’re convinced. You’ve decided that you need a life map, but you also may be thinking, I’ve already lived a goodly portion of my life without one. Isn’t it too late now to change? How do I go about it even if I want to? I feel so trapped where I am. I’ve already blown it, haven’t I? Not so! With God all things are possible. He’s just been waiting for you to recognize the need to factor Him into your life. He’s eagerly awaiting your step of turning your life over to Him, and letting His Spirit direct you.

 

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

 

 

 

 

 

            Some people handle their personal pain by isolating themselves. Others on the fast track use their personal pace as a sedative. They keep so busy that they have no time for other people or to think about their own perceived inadequacies or past failures. They hope that what they accomplish today will offset any weaknesses or past problems.

 

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            Although accomplished in their field, people who fail to heed this warning sign find that the people around them are neglected and anticipating “second best.” Don’t get me wrong, this concept is not gender relative. Husbands and wives both can become “wedded to work.” Men and women can become too busy for their partners and friends. Socializing takes a back seat to the tension to get ahead or just caught up. So how strained are your relationships?

 

 

 

Our Need for Community

 

            At the core of every person is a deep need for community. Strained relationships are the signs of a life that is headed for or trapped in the Rat Race. Strained relationships build barriers between friends and family. Strained relationships create exclusiveness and individualism. But you were designed by God to desire to be with other people, to need to belong and be accepted by others. But not all relationships are on the same level. That is what community is all about. There are different levels of friendship.

1. There are activity-based friendships. These relationships are founded upon common activities such as shopping, raising kids, hobbies, or even studying. This level of friendship is necessary, but does not necessarily mean that the other person knows the “real you.”
2. A second kind of friendships is what I call historical friendships. These are the people with whom we have been connected for many years, maybe even as far back as our youth. The intimacy level never goes very deep because the tie with them is merely a common background, not authenticity and openness.
3. Professional friendships make up the third category. These include your work associates, other parents at your child’s school, and those people in your life with whom contact will only occur when a task must be accomplished. There probably will never be a need to reveal feelings or inner struggles in such settings because the project at hand is more the focus than are the people.
4. Community friendships are a primary way by which to learn how to develop other relationships in our life. With the help of a rich pool of community friendships, we have a basis on which to work out our insecurities and fears, and we can gather the strength, love, and support that is necessary to develop new friends. With this type of fellowship, we can carry out the same healing attributes with parents, mates, children coworkers and even the strangers with whom we will have contact every day of our lives.           

 

How can you develop community friendships?

 

1.  Challenge yourself and others to grow. Paul wrote the church in Ephesus and told them, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Eph. 4:1). The challenge? Grow into the men and women God wants us to be.

2.  Share your confidence in others. Life runs more smoothly when others show confidence in us. Remember how our Lord did this with Peter? “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:18). Peter…a rock? Not the Peter I read about. Peter only opened his mouth long enough to exchange feet. He was impulsive, not an immovable rock. But our Lord’s confidence extended far beyond Peter’s struggles and failings. Our Lord knew that it would be Peter who would deny Him three times. And yet this frail, unimpressive man would be entrusted by the Son of God with a major role in the early Christian church. When you talk with others, see their potential, not just their problem areas. Anticipate something good in their lives and convey your confidence in them.

            3.  Make encouragement a priority. How Paul needed encouragement from Barnabas, “the Son of Encouragement!” Can you imagine the shattered image Paul must have had of himself when he finally realized the truth about who Jesus is? It was bad enough that he had rejected Jesus, let alone that he had actively sought out believers and brought them to Jerusalem to be mocked, often tortured and then killed. Barnabas took Paul under his wing, introducing him to other believers and sticking up for him when Paul had yet to prove the truth of his changed ways. God alone knows how different church history might have been had Barnabas not been there to encourage Paul to be the leader he was to become.

            4.  Correct others lovingly. There will be times when you will need to lovingly build up people while correcting them; our Lord did. In Mark 9, Jesus had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration where Peter, James, and John had seen Jesus in His glorified state. Coming to the base of the mountain, they must have seen the other disciples huddled together and arguing with other people. Evidently the disciples had tried in vain to cast a demon from a boy who was having seizures. Jesus told them to bring the boy to Him and He cast the demon from the boy. When asked by the disciples why they couldn’t drive the demon out, Jesus replied, “ ‘This kind can come out only by prayer’ ” (Mark 9:29). Our Lord confronted their unbelief and dependence on personal achievement and abilities. Jesus turned an embarrassing event into a teachable moment…with loving correction.

            5.  Accept people the way God has accepted you. God has made many different personality types. Each type responds to situations differently. When we try to change the way God has made people, and try to make them fit the type we are, we can mess things up. Let God be God and you be the human being who makes “every effort to live in peace with all men” (Heb. 12:14).

            6.  Have more fun. The term “lighten up” is tailor-made for Rat Racers. Friends spend time together doing things that bring them joy. Adding spontaneity and trying to bring joy to someone else are just two of the many ways we can add fun to our relationships.

            7.  Relax. The statement, “I feel guilty when I relax” had to be coined by a Rat Race participant. Doctors tell us that relaxation is crucial to our well being. God not only instituted a day of rest but modeled it for us. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3).

            8.  Be patient with others. The word patience in the New Testament means to have a long fuse. Patience is the ability to see that people, problems, and situations are not always the way you would like them to be, but everything will be all right as you trust in Christ to work all things together for good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

            9.  Empathize, don’t criticize. Making allowances for others will become easier if you can learn to put yourself in another’s place. Most of us misunderstand empathy. Some perceive empathy as our ability to carry everyone else’s problems. Others see it as an intense withdrawal from life in search of a more sensitive you. Empathy is merely the ability to put yourself in other person’s shoes, to see the world through their eyes, to genuinely feel what they may be feeling.

            10.  Repair hurting relationships. People caught in the Rat Race can wreak havoc on the people around them. Their nit-picking, pessimistic attitudes cause much unwarranted stress and pain in their relationships. When one of your relationships is strained, take the initiative to repair it immediately. Talk the problem over with your friend. Seek or give forgiveness where it is needed. Even difficult times can bring growth in ourselves and our relationships.

 

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

Remember how great those first days, weeks, even years were with the Lord? The times with Him in Bible reading and prayer were so special. Whatever happened to them? The Rat Race—that’s what happened. We’ve gotten caught up in the hurry, the pressures, and stress of life. Relationships, as we will soon see, have gotten strained, and our excitement about the Lord has drained out as the pressures and concerns have flowed in.

The urgent has become a tyrant and our priorities have gotten confused. Our once strong desire to be with the Lord and enjoyment with Him have become dulled, uninteresting, and at times, (we are embarrassed to admit) almost a burden. Why? Because we have allowed our love for Him to be “choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures…” (Luke 8:14).

The following quiz will help you see how far you have gone down the road away from your First Love.

Answer “yes” or “no.”


Part of the reason we drift away from the Lord is because we let our times of prayer and Bible study fall behind. We let other things press in on us and steal our close relationship with the Lord. We are often more focused on ourselves, our problems, and our needs than we are on the Lord. We can get on a lukewarm path without even realizing it. So how do we get back on the right path?



Return to Your First Love



One day the disciples made a significant request of Jesus: “Teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). How strange. We all know how to pray, don’t we? But how many of us know how to do miracles? Why didn’t Jesus’ disciples ask to be taught how to perform miracles, how to heal, or how to cast out demons? If I were there, I might have asked how to be more like Jesus or how to preach with greater power. If prayer is as simple as most seem to think it is, why make such a request? Wouldn’t that be tantamount to asking to be taught to eat or sleep?

The answer lies in the life of Jesus. He valued prayer. He modeled it. He lived a life above reproach and with great power. In fact, His disciples had come to realize a crucial truth—prayer was foundational to all Jesus was and all Jesus did. Jesus was a man of prayer. It saturated everything He did. Jesus prayed as a way of life, not just occasionally. He prayed early in the morning, late at night, all night, during the day, and even while He ministered to people. He “said grace” for His food and the food multiplied.

The power and impact of Jesus’ prayer life was not lost on the disciples then or on many believers since. They have all realized that if they really know how to pray, then the results in their own lives and ministries will have much of the miraculous quality that Jesus’ life displayed.

A modern-day example is the prayer-saturated life of George Mueller who constantly saw marvelous and often miraculous answers to prayer. Mueller ran many orphanages in the 1900s. When he needed land to build an orphanage but had no money, he wasn’t fazed. He simply prayed until God miraculously provided it. Mueller was always praying for food for his orphanages. They never missed a meal. Once when they had nothing to eat, he returned thanks for the food, believing God would answer his prayer to supply all their needs. Just then a truck loaded with perishable food broke down in front of his door.

I can just hear you say, “Sure, Jesus could do this; He was God. But what about me? How can I avoid the Rat Race? It seems so inevitable. How can I return to my first love?” The following nine principles should help you do just that. They are designed to follow the example of Jesus and help you make prayer more alive and relevant to your life.

1. See prayer as a time of developing a close relationship with a wonderful, desirable person who is eager to have such a relationship. In James 4:8, the Lord says to draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Expect to learn more about God or to start feeling deeper things towards Him.

2. Understand that this prayer time is helping develop spiritual maturity and fine tuning your spiritual life.

3. Know that prayer is your life line to success in your race. Prayer will help set your course straight for the day and help you receive input from your wise Coach.

4. Make prayer your highest priority.

5. Determine that your time in prayer will be enjoyable and that you will come away with something of value. Because the Word is a vital part of the prayer process, when you pray, ask the Lord to show you one meaningful truth for your life from your Bible reading. The Psalms, Proverbs, and Paul’s letters are gold mines for promises that will encourage you for the day.

6. Recognize that prayer makes your day go better and helps you impact people positively.

7. See prayer as a wonderful problem solver and a way of positively influencing circumstances and people in a way that you could not do so alone.

8. Use variety to keep your prayer life fresh. Pray for family and immediate concerns each day. Whenever possible, start out and close your time with praise and thanksgiving. These help keep your eyes on the Lord to show you that He is quite capable of doing in your life what needs to be done. Draw from the Scriptures to enhance your prayer times. Pray Scripture back to the Lord, agreeing with the concepts and, when appropriate, telling Him how this applies to your life and what you are currently facing.

9. When you are in a time of crisis, stop and pray. If you can, get alone and away from distraction. We see Jesus doing this in Luke 5:16 and John 6:15.

In the final analysis, many people who are caught in the Rat Race are living their lives for themselves. At times, they will consult the Lord to see what he wants, but even then it is with the view that they will go His way only if that seems best in their eyes. In stark contrast is Jesus who says, “…I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30). By following the above nine principles, you should be able to make your prayer life dynamic and a time of refreshing and refuge from the pressures of the Rat Race. Learn to follow as your model, using prayer as a key part of avoiding the many traps of life.

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

Warning Sign #4 - Perfectionism

My wife has perfectionist tendencies and often feels like a card-carrying member of the Rat Race. Perfectionists are ruthless in self-evaluation. Their inner drive can be depressing for both themselves and others as they continually push to set and achieve higher standards. At the very core of this warning sign is an innate fear of failure and rejection. The main problem for the perfectionist is the inability to distinguish between the “I should’s” and the “I could’s.” Overuse of the words “should” or “ought” drive into you the inability to meet your own standards. Your self-esteem then plummets.

Here are twelve statements to help you see how much of a perfectionist you are.

Answer “yes” or “no.”

1. I can’t sit through even a half hour TV show without getting up to do something during the commercials. 2. I have to look at many selections before buying the “right” gift. 3. When I listen to a sermon, I easily pick up on grammatical mistakes. 4. I can’t stand a messy desk or work space. 5. I often find it takes a long time to finish a project because I keep thinking of new ways to improve it. 6. I am always straightening up after family members, even when they are not finished with the item. 7. I can often think of a better way to do something than the way someone else did it. 8. It takes me a long time to decide what to wear to special occasions. 9. I walk into a room and notice if a picture on the wall is crooked. 10. When I got a “B” on a test, I felt my world was crashing in on me. 11. I never start anything I know I can’t do well. 12. It drives me up a wall to see the greeting cards out of place in the store, so I straighten them.

What if every area of your life is caught in the “all-or-nothingism” of the perfectionist’s thinking? What if you have reduced your life to a system of black-and-white polar opposites, so that either all is well in your world or nothing is? What if you must achieve complete success -- a piece of work flawlessly executed, a relationship with no conflicts in it, your personal best in every race, an “A” on every test? If you are caught in this endless trap of tunnel vision, blaming and shoulds, musts and have-tos, there is only one way you will ever get out of it. You need to stop and spend time alone with God in prayer and meditate on what He shows you.

Put Aside Perfectionism There will probably be several areas, in which you will want to seek God’s input. We will look at four common ones. 1. Establish your priorities. Sometimes we get so caught up in our perfectionist ways that we neglect critical areas of our lives. When we get out of balance in any of the following five priorities, we are in trouble. By bringing them back into God’s perspective and balance, we can often intercept the perfectionist tendencies that may be there because we are weak in one or more of these areas:

Spiritual Health. We need to have quality time with the Lord. This means that if we are not regularly praying and reading the Word we well may find ourselves trying to compensate by doing things for God, pushing ourselves to accomplish things that please Him. Too often we buy into the Enemy lie that the things we do for God are the most important things. Spending time with Him can sometimes seem less important than our witnessing, teaching a Bible study, or serving on committees. The visible becomes more valuable in our minds than the less visible. But God’s priorities are exactly the opposite. He wants us to spend time with Him so we can in turn be and do what He wants. We have to grow in Him to stay spiritually healthy.

Emotional Health. Oftentimes, we try to get our self-worth from the wrong source—accomplishments. When we feel uncertain about our acceptance before God or with others, we can get caught in the trap of performance, which leads to perfectionism. What we need to do is to know who we are in Christ. There are many wonderful statements in Scripture telling us just that. For example, “for he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Eph. 1:4). We are dearly loved (John 3:16) and highly valued according to the parables Jesus tells about the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price (Matt. 13:44-46).

Another misconception in the area of emotional health is that we have to be perfect in order for God to be pleased with us. But if we will look at Ephesians 1:6 (KJV) we read that we are “accepted in the beloved.” This acceptance is not because of what we do but rather because of who Jesus is and the fact that we are in Him if we have invited Him into our lives as Lord and Savior. Therefore even perfectionists can and should be willing to risk falling short of perfection when they attempt to do what the Lord has asked them to do. Emotionally, it is very helpful to keep our eyes on Jesus, do what He asks, and not worry about the results. Leave the results in His hands. When we do this, we free ourselves from many traps of the Enemy such as worrying about what others think, or beating up on ourselves when we don’t measure up to perfection.

Social Health. People need to be made a higher priority than things. Perfectionists too often strain relationships by demanding the same high standards of others as they do themselves. Just as emotionally we have to see and accept ourselves as God sees and accepts us, so also we have to let others be imperfect and make mistakes. In other words, we have to give others the same permission to be less than perfect that God gives us. If we don’t, we will end up alienating people.

Intellectual Health. God has given each of us one or more abilities. But as with any talent, it takes time to develop the skills necessary to do well in an area in which we are gifted. Fear of failure can cause perfectionists to lose out on much that God wants them to do because they are not willing to take risks and be seen as less than perfect.

2. Seek the Lord’s help in dealing with perfectionism. Begin by identifying those areas in which you are a perfectionist. Then ask the Lord to show you why you are a perfectionist. Are you insecure, fearful, trying to please, wanting a sense of accomplishment and meaning? After you identify the sources of your perfectionism, ask God to help you overcome them. Share your discoveries with your spouse or a trusted friend and enlist their help as you try to overcome. 3. Learn to relax. One of the things that is crucial in avoiding the pressures of the Rat Race is to free your mind from the anxieties of the day. I have a “dump tree” which serves this purpose. It is a large tree overhanging a stop sign on the way home. Each day, as I drive past that tree on my way home, I mentally “dump” all the concerns of the day at the base of the tree. The next day as I return to church, I “pick them up” as I pass by the tree. Part of being able to cope well with life is to get enough rest. When we are tired, we become inefficient. We need to learn to pace ourselves, even to schedule rest and recreation in order to avoid the tyranny of perfectionism. 4. Admit that you are not God. When we decide to take control of our lives -- to play God -- we often find that God has to let us come to the end of our rope, to have to cry out to Him, before we will turn loose and let Him once again be in control. There is only one God and we cannot usurp His place! We need to learn how to keep from putting yourselves in the place of God, how to let Him lead us, and how to draw closer to Him so we can avoid all Enemy traps to lure us away from His will for our lives.

On the journey with you, Pastor Glen

• Am I satisfied with my priorities?
• Where will I be five years from now if this continues to be my weekly schedule? 
• What is my aim? What are my goals?
• Is there a need to reprioritize my efforts or reevaluate my schedule?

2. Operate in the present. Every day, you are given 86,400 golden seconds to use. And guess what -- if you don’t use them, you will definitely lose them. Remember again, time can be wasted, but it can never be recycled. So here is a very simple piece of advice: Don’t procrastinate! This concept is biblical. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

Haven’t you discovered that opportunities never seem to last? Take coupons, for instance. I remember our son, Scott, trying to cash in a pizza coupon that read, “For a limited time only.” It was so limited that it had expired, and we had to pay full price. If you don’t use it, you will lose it and often suffer loss in the process.

3. Appreciate what’s important. Follow Paul’s thinking as we read in Ephesians 5:17, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” There is no more important place in which to be than in the center of God’s will for your life. God’s will for your life can be summarized in three words: knowing, growing, and going.

God wants you to know Him intimately, to have a personal relationship with Him. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD” (Jer. 29:11-14a, NKJV).

• God also wants you to grow, to mature and develop in your faith. That’s why He has given you the Bible and His church. “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart” (Ps. 119:1-2).
• Last, we need to go and tell others about Him and His love for us. “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:18-20).

These are the basics, the important things, and when you don’t have the basics in focus, all the rest of life seems just a little out of balance.

4. Regulate the pressure. I do a lot of flying and whenever I get on the plane I hear the same thing, “Ladies and gentlemen, our cabin has been pressurized for your comfort.” The way I understand this, (despite the fact that my engineer friends say that I don’t fully get it), is that they are putting air into the plane to maintain the fourteen pounds per square inch necessary to keep us comfortable. Whatever the external pressure may be, the internal pressure must be the same or the cabin will collapse.

Paul in essence says that we should fill our lives with the Spirit of God and allow God’s presence to regulate the pressure.

I can almost hear some of you asking, “How does one become filled with the Holy Spirit?” If you’re a Christian, the Holy Spirit already lives inside of you. Allowing Him to have control of your daily life is a commitment you make every day. First you need to understand that this is something God wants us to do. In Ephesians 5:18, we are told to be “filled with the Spirit.” God would not ask us to do something that He does not show us how to do. So we then can take the next step of asking Him to fill us, based on His promise in 1 John 5:14-15 in which we are told that “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” This is a straightforward proposition: Ask of God something that you know is His will, like being filled with the Spirit, and then you can know that He not only hears your request, but will also answer it because what you have asked is already His will. In practical terms, a person can pray a prayer similar to the following:

 Lord Jesus, I have been in control of my life, but I now want Your Spirit to be the One who runs my life. I am giving You all of my rights. Please take control of every area of my life. Whenever I am tempted to take back control, please point that out to me and help me have the courage and strength to resist successfully any temptation or desire to take control again of my life.

Show me how to live on top of my circumstances and not under them. Help me keep my eyes on You, Lord Jesus, instead of on my problems. Let me see You, Father, as the One who can and will meet every need of my life. Let me be sufficient in You and not in my own abilities and strengths. Help me to have the right balance between living in Your control and exercising diligence as I respond to each facet of my life. Whenever pressures come that have been unbearable or debilitating before, show me Your perspective -- anything I’ve been doing wrong or thinking improperly. Then show me how to correct my faulty actions and thoughts so that I can continue to walk in Your Spirit’s control. Thank You that You want to do these things in my life even more than I do. Remind me of that when my faith gets weak.

You can live successfully in any and all circumstances, including the severe pressures that come with the Rat Race. The choice is yours. Depend upon your own strength and abilities or depend on the Holy Spirit flowing through you, who keeps you anchored to the Lord and the solid Rock of Jesus, and keeps you “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).

On the journey with you,
Pastor Glen

The Rat Race is no place to slow down, relax, and have fun. There is always one more task to accomplish, one more job to do, one more committee to guide, and one more compulsion to fulfill. People caught in the Rat Race see fun as being counterproductive. They believe that no one gets anywhere in life by relaxing. Fun is at the bottom of the priorities because it demonstrates one’s inability to enjoy work and excel. People who are caught in the Rat Race inevitably get very tired, but they have so fooled themselves that they see exhaustion as a badge of honor: “Look how hard I’m working. What a good person I am to sacrifice this way for those I love.” Their self-esteem gets massaged along with their tired feet, and their aching back and neck. This warning sign leaves little space for fun, inspirational reading, physical exercise, prayer, hobbies, or anything else which hints at veering away from the day’s priorities.

Consider the following statements. The more “yes” answers you get, the less healthy fun you are allowing yourself to have.

1. No one gets anywhere in life by relaxing.

2. Even when I have time, I’m too tired to do anything fun or relaxing.

3. My state of exhaustion makes me feel that I am worthwhile.

4. My work is more important than my own personal comfort or desires.

5. When I rest, I feel guilty.

6. I never feel that I accomplish enough, even though I am exhausted all the time from the long hours I put in.

7. I don’t think that taking time off to have fun would relieve my stress.

8. Laughter should not be part of the workplace.

9. I often have work with me when I eat a meal.

10. I take a “To Do” list with me on vacations.

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to have an easier time making decisions than others? If they make a mistake, their world doesn’t fall apart. They would rather do something wrong than to do nothing at all. Other people have trouble looking at a menu and choosing what they want to eat for one meal. These are the ones who get caught in the Rat Race of indecisiveness.

Make Better Decisions

Because we are human beings, we have a great potential for error. We wait too long; we pay too much; and we will make wrong decisions. In order for us to enjoy life the way God intended, we need to examine some of the principles outlined in Scripture for decision making. There is no clear cut formula in the Bible because there are so many different types of decisions. But God gives us distinct principles that can make the decision making process much simpler.

Principle #1 – Request wisdom from God. I have found that when people face confusion in their lives, they react in one of three ways. 1) They may panic. They are not sure which way to turn or which choice to make. Life becomes a series of anxiety attacks. 2) Some people will ponder. Many find relief in never making a decision. They do not want to face life; they just want to think about it. These are the people who hope the problem will just go away. 3) A third option is to pray. James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ, wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). God Himself tells us that the wisest thing we can do is to ask Him for wisdom.

Principle #2 – Rely on God’s provision. In James 1, we read, “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt….” In other words, expect an answer. Trust that God did hear your request; now rely on His provision.

It appears in the decision making process that first we must ask the right person – God -- then we must ask in the right way -- in faith, believing and not doubting. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Evidently, if you are to receive anything from God, you have to believe in advance that you are going to get it. That’s faith!

Principle #3 – Rest in your decision. James moves us beyond doubt, saying, “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (James 1:6-8).

Principle #4 – Relate to the facts, not your feelings. Feelings are a major part of life. We need them, but we cannot always rely on them. The best piece of advice I have ever received goes like this: Never make a major decision when you are tired, depressed, sick, or emotionally stressed. As a pastor, I will never make a major decision on Monday. If pastors lived their lives solely on emotions, most of us would resign on Monday. It is hard to be logical when you are emotionally spent or upset. So you shouldn’t walk out of your marriage when you’re depressed. You should never change jobs because your boss is angry with you. You must first look at the emotions and examine the facts. Ask God, then make the decision.

Principle #5 – Re-establish your life on the Bible. James 1:22-25 reminds us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -- he will be blessed in what he does.”

Do you really want the wisdom of God in your life? Then you will need the Word of God in your heart. I hear people say all the time, “I asked for wisdom to make this decision, and I didn’t get it.” What I would ask these people is, “How often do you read your Bible?” I have discovered two important guidelines concerning God’s will for our lives. First, God’s will is found in God’s Word. If you are not reading your Bible, you will not discover God’s will for your life. Second, God’s will is never contrary to God’s Word. Many have asked, “How can it be so wrong, when it feels so right?” I’ll tell you why. Feelings are unreliable. It’s not enough to go to church on Sunday, anticipating that you will receive enough spiritual nourishment for the remainder of the week. You will forget the majority of what you hear anyway. How can we retain what we hear?

James 1:22-24 provides three tools we can use to hold onto God’s Word longer and thus provide a firmer foundation for the decision making process:

Study the Bible. By the one who “looks intently into the perfect law.” Get into a Bible study, join a small group, do whatever it takes to get into the Bible and it into you. Memorize the Bible. No, not the entire Bible, but portions of it which will revolutionize your life. Be the one who continues to do this, “not forgetting what he has heard.” Do what you learn in the Bible. Be the one who does what he hears -- “he will be blessed in what he does.” Follow the Bible, put it into practice, and trust that it will truly change your life.

Making decisions is an important part of climbing out of the Rat Race and back into God’s Royal Race. He will not make all of your decisions for you. He has given us the freedom to decide. He does, however, desire your decisions be based upon His wisdom. We are told in Psalm 119:105 that “Your [God’s] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” In Jesus’ day, they didn’t have flashlights with batteries that keep on going and going. So how did the people walk in the dark? They had tiny lamps that would not allow the oil to slosh out. They would light the lamps, and then strap them to the front of their shoes. As they took each step, the light would shine just far enough ahead so they would be able to keep walking. The Bible is this kind of light. It is not a high beam that shows us everything that will happen up ahead over the next ten years. God doesn’t want us looking that far ahead because we’d panic. He wants us to live one day at a time. One decision at a time -- and He has promised to give us the wisdom necessary for each step we take.

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

BEYOND THE RAT RACE

Warning Sign #1 - Brownouts

I once lived in the city in the high desert where the draw on the electricity would be so great in the summer that periodic brownouts would occur. The lights did not go out. My digital clocks didn’t start blinking. Nonetheless, you could sense a difference. The lights grew dimmer. People in the Rat Race have these same symptoms. There is such a draw on their thoughts and attention that they seem to forget recent conversations and events, not because of memory loss, but because of preoccupation or overload. Here’s a little quiz to see if you are prone to brownouts…

Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions:

1. I wake up with headaches in the morning and begin my day with aspirin at least two days per week.

2. I find I’m easily discouraged and feel like crying over the silliest things.

3. I’m always tired. I don’t feel creative and have trouble concentrating.

4. I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. I just don’t want to start the day.

5. I don’t get as much done as I used to. I feel mentally exhausted.

6. I just want to be alone. I don’t look forward to coming home.

7. I have no hobbies; I don’t have the patience or the energy.

8. I get mad too often. I lash out at my friends and family.

9. I get that “uptight” feeling in my stomach at least once a week. Antacids usually solve the problem.

10. I could use a neck or shoulder rub every day to help me get to sleep at night.

11. I’ve been making some bad decisions lately. My friends tell me I need a vacation.

12. I just can’t sit still. And when I do, I feel guilty because I have so much to do.

To score this tool, simply add up the number of your “yes” answers.

0-3 Brownout? What’s a brownout?

4-6 I possibly have a brownout once or twice a year.

7-9 I’m prone to brownouts; I struggle with my schedule.

10-12 Brown is my color! I’m a card-carrying member of the Rat Race!

Learn Your Limits

I am not the man I used to be. I no longer enjoy playing loud video games; they now make me dizzy. I used to stay up until midnight or one o’clock with regularity, studying and writing, but I’ve found that as I have “matured” (this is the baby boomers’ terminology for aging), I need at least six hours of sleep or I will be a waste the following day. All this to say, I’m learning my limits, which will help prevent warning sign number one, brownout.

One of the reasons we get trapped in the Rat Race is because we have not learned to set limits. Many of us don’t even know what our limits are. In fact, we don’t even like limitations. We see them as confining and the result of personal weakness. However, learning our limits will prevent much of the pain of brownouts, the first warning sign of a life trapped in the Rat Race. Dallas Willard shares a great insight in his book In Search of Guidance, “We all live at the mercy of our ideas.” These ideas affect every area of our lives--from our relationship with God to our relationship with those we love on earth.

Learning your limits implies that you have learned something about the real you. The tendency of people who struggle with the Rat Race lifestyle is to begin doubting their capabilities and strengths by questioning everything else from relationships to career. There are seven patterns of thinking that will cause problems because those involved have overextended their personal expectations and limits.

Thought #1 - I must be approved or loved by everyone. We all want to be loved. This is a natural desire but the healthiest way to experience love is to allow God to be the primary source of your life. Let His love for you be what satisfies your heart and let His indirect love as shown through others be an added dimension of His loving you. In this way, you look to Him to supply your needs--yes, even your need for love and acceptance. Others always disappoint us and fall below our expectations. When we look to others to meet our needs, we leave ourselves wide open for the hurt which inevitably comes.

Thought #2 - I must continually be striving to be the best in order to be happy. If this describes you today, it is a good thing you didn’t have this philosophy when you were learning to walk, to talk, or to ride a bike. People with this philosophy should hang up their car keys when they get their first ticket or have their first accident.

We must learn to redefine success. People who focus on accomplishments as their source and standard of happiness are doomed to be ruled by circumstances for the rest of their lives. Our happiness needs to be centered in God, in who we are in Him, in knowing that He is approving of us even when we make mistakes. Give yourself the freedom to fail. God does.

Thought #3 - I must blame others for my mistakes so that I can get ahead. All of us make mistakes. No one, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, is infallible. Blaming others for personal mistakes or bad decisions will never accomplish what we subconsciously hope for. Blame will never result in less stupidity on your part or that of the other person. People who are in touch with reality admit their mistakes, accept them, and will not allow the mistakes to become a catastrophe or lead them to feel worthless.

Thought #4 - Life is terrible when things are not going the way I want them to. When our lives revolve around ourselves--our wants, our desires, our plans--we are vulnerable to falling into the trap of self-centeredness and its resulting dissatisfaction. Two self-centered people will seldom be satisfied in any given situation because one of them may have his/her goals blocked by the other. That is why God wants us to be centered on Him, not on ourselves or our circumstances.

Paul gave his whole life to sharing the Gospel, yet he often found himself in difficult positions--shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned. He could have said, “Why aren’t things going more smoothly? I’m doing God’s will and following His plan.” But he didn’t let events determine his feelings. He says in Phil. 4:11, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Only when we realize that He alone can satisfy us, and can make sense out of our lives, can we rest in Him when things don’t go the way we thought they would.

Thought #5 - I have to do whatever I see that needs to be done or whatever others ask of me. One of the great traps of the Enemy is to get us so busy--so tied up in doing, doing, doing that we have no time for God, for our family, for rest, or for other important things in life. This is one reason God so clearly tells us that He is there for us, helping us sort out the good from the best. One look at the life of Jesus shows us that He did not do everything there was to do. Only one of the many sick at the pool of Bethesda was healed by Him. Why didn’t He do more? Because He said, “I do only what I see my Father do.” He had learned to seek the Father in prayer, to get His instructions for the day, and then to do only those things that the Father had for Him to do. We need to do the same. By so doing, we will save ourselves the stress and pressure of taking on much more than the Lord ever meant us to have.

Thought #6 – There are many things to fear in life and I dwell upon them continually. Life is complicated and unpredictable and fear is one of the basic tools of the Enemy. Those who try to live life apart from the Lord indeed will find it a fearful, overwhelming prospect. But those who trust in the Lord and have their minds fixed upon Him will have the perfect peace that we are promised in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” When we fix our eyes on the Lord and learn to see things from His perspective, we will find that our fears are not based upon anything but the Enemy’s desire to keep us in bondage and steal from us the joy of our salvation. Remember who your God is and who you are in Christ the next time fear tries to pull you into its trap.

Thought #7 - I must constantly rely on myself if I am ever to get ahead. Our society thrives on independence. As with so many things in the Christian life, what we usually see as strength, God sees as weakness. Paul expressed it this way: “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10b). How can this be? It is simple, yet ever so hard to put into practice, especially if you have a lot of talent and abilities. God’s ideal is for you to be a servant, to be strong through weakness by letting His Spirit, rather than your own strength be the vehicle of accomplishing through you the good works He has established for you to do.

The mind or our thoughts influence whether or not we have brownouts. It can either help us avoid pressures or cause us much more pressure. If people are always complaining and looking too much at circumstances and not at their Lord, who has promised to meet all their needs, then indeed they will have a constant and real struggle to survive the Rat Race. Jesus is our example. This is why no trap can capture those who keep their thoughts under the control of Jesus Christ as He asked us to do in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Choosing to look to the Lord for His provision, avoiding negative self-talk, repeating Scripture, and praying can all be instrumental in avoiding brownouts.

On the journey with you,

Pastor Glen

Journey's Children Ministries presents, RACE FOR JESUS, a fun-filled family event where the children can race child-sized Go-Karts, enjoy lunch and concessions, play in our bounce house and be part of an Easter egg hunt! To be held on Saturday, April 16, 10am till 2pm on the lower parking lot of the campus. Cost is $5 per person (children under 2 yrs. are free). The Go-Karts are for children 3 yrs. - 11 yrs. with a weight limit of 100 lbs.

To purchase tickets you can email jennifer.thomas@journeyoffaith.com or stop by the "Race With Jesus" table in the lobby between services (March 27 & April 3).