Posts Tagged ‘Andy Stanley’

We Live as if we are going to Live Forever

Posted: March 22, 2015 in Something to think about
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I heard one of my favorite Pastors, Andy Stanley, recently speak about a topic that I think is so very relevant right now because of where we are in the world with all of its chaos and unpredictability. As Christians, many of us can honestly see the worlds events unfolding just as the Bible says they would…all right in front of our eyes and yet at the very same time, we same Christians are living on this earth as if we are going to live forever?

We live, play, and conduct ourselves as if our tomorrow is something guaranteed to us…NEWS FLASH…it isn’t.

You see as Pastor Stanley said, if we could totally see God as He is, everlasting to everlasting, we would give Him the reverence that He is due because as humans, we are only just a blip on the screen of eternity. In fact, I don’t even think we are a blip or a speck on His eternal timeline. If you really think about it, what is 70 or 80 years to a God who is truly eternal or time less?

Here are a couple of points to consider:

  • If you and I could see God as He truly is we would be much more careful with the time that we have here on this earth.
  • If you and I could see God as He truly is we would probably rethink what we do with our limited time here on this earth and how we choose to spend it.

Think about that for a second…Do you consciously think about how you will spend your time?

Because from my vantage point, it looks like many of us are just living as if the rest of our life is guaranteed and locked in permanent. We even spend our time with our children as if they’re going to be here forever. Whether that means we ignore them or we tolerate them, they too will be gone before we know it.

Moses said in Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days so that we may gain wisdom from you.

When we number our days and gain that wisdom from God, we carefully allocate what we choose to spend our time on each day. In other words, we pay attention to what we do and where we focus our efforts on. Simply put, this life is preparation for the next and our task here on this earth is to accomplish what GOD wants us to accomplish and NOT what WE think we should. As Christians, remembering our time is limited on earth should give us better insight into how we should not waste it.

Please trust me when I say this, wasting time is not what God would have us do while we are here on earth.

One more thing to consider:

Pastor Stanley made the point that because my time is limited means I need to limit what I do. In other words, don’t throw yourself into every single thing you are asked to participate in as well as for your kids.

You know exactly what I mean…

Busy is good…crazy busy, stressful busy, that is not careful allocation of the time we have here on earth. Something to think about…

Guys, when I heard this message it hit me between the eyes and spiritually speaking, I hope it does for you too…

Until next time guys…

 

Adding some Guardrails in your Life…

Posted: July 20, 2013 in Husband, Inspirational
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Have you ever listened to a podcast? I discovered podcasts a few months ago when I needed something different to listen to when I was working out. In the process of trying to find a podcast that actually might challenge me, I ran across Andy Stanley from North Point Community Church in Atlanta. After listening to him for a few days, he quickly has become one of my favorite pastors and one of the main reasons are the topics he chooses. For example, recently I stumbled upon one of his series called “Guardrails in your Life” that frankly has changed me and how I think about how close I want to live to the edge in this world.

Andy quickly established what guardrails are…Barriers that protect us from straying off into a danger zone. We see them all the time on the highway. They are strategically placed in center medians to keep us from crossing over into oncoming traffic. They are located on bridges where roads curve to keep us from losing control and falling over the edge. One critical point Andy makes is that guardrails are always located within the safe zone of the road only just a few feet from real danger. Have you ever seen a car that has hit a guardrail? The car is damaged; in some cases, severely, but the occupant is usually ok. The outside of the car takes the brunt of the collision; and there usually is always damage, but survival is the objective. Scrapes and bruises are ok if we live.

Guardrails in your life would function in the same way but the question is, do you have guard rails set up for your self to avoid you swerving over into your personal danger zone? In my own experiences with friends, I have watched them live right on the edge of the sin barrier of immorality. They literally balanced themselves with one foot on the line and the other moving back and forth from faith to folly. I believe all of us know guys who have fallen onto the wrong side when perched on this edge and as a result, lost their spouse and family.

Why is the danger zone so attractive? I will address that in another blog post but for right now lets talk about setting up a literal barrier for yourself so that when you run into it, sirens, alarms and red flags start going off inside you so you know you are close to going over…or at least in a place you shouldn’t be.

Let me give you some armor to put on to help you when you feel yourself swerving off into danger areas. Paul addresses this very issue in his letter to the church of Corinth.

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

Guys, I believe this is very simple to understand all you need to do is to claim it.

Paul was very clear when he said FLEE, RUN, GET OUT OF THERE…but there is more.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, YOU were purchased from sin…which means SIN no longer has a claim over you.

You have power to resist the dangers in your life.

With this power…

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO WHAT YOUR DESIRES TELL YOU TO DO.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO WHAT YOUR APPETITE TELLS YOU TO DO.

As a Christian, you are the master of your body because your body is under the authority of a greater master.

I challenge you to honor God with your bodies as Paul says, by establishing your own guard rails to help you know when you are in the danger zone

You were bought with a price which gives you power and that power is what will help you overcome the wrong desires we all feel in our lives.

Claim this for you and your family today.

Who knew that guardrails were so important?

Until next time guys…