Something Stopped Me in My Tracks (1)

Impromptu "Date Night" with a couple of other couples.  That is how we travel these days, in couples of couples.  We went downtown to see an Improve Comedy group and then decided to grab one last drink and sit on a roof deck bar to enjoy the summer's cool night air.  As we walked the roof deck scanning tables to see if one was open or opening soon, I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye.

Nothing looks quite like the greenery of rolling hills and small stone and mortar houses of France.  The screen was blurry with green fields with only one thing in focus: a man on a bicycle.  "The Tour."  I stopped, turned my head fully to the right and looked at the TV full on.  My accompaniment, not seeing me stop dead in my tracks, continued the hunt for a table top big enough to sit all of the couples.  There was no sound, no closed captioning, so I had to go off of the small writing on the corners of the screen to show what race it was, what country it was in and what leg it was.  Nothing I could glean of the TV helped my anxiety.  Then I turned to the background.  I tried to spy any flag or sign or anything that would give me a hint as to where it was.

A couple of minutes later, my wife comes up to me and asks me, "has the Tour started already?"  I had no clue.  We both sat there, glued, until it finally went to commercial and flashed some other series logo.  "Phew," we both let out as the pressure of possibly missing the first leg of the Tour left our shoulders.

The rest of the night was filled with great couple-conversations smattered with laughs, memories and me quizzing my wife on the limited information we knew about the Tour.

You see, we knew nothing about the Tour last year.  Well, we knew as much as every other American, "It's a bike race around France and Lance Armstrong dominates it every time he is in it*" (asterisk included for reasons widely publicized).  Last year while sitting at a Happy Hour, we had a cycling enthusiast friend fill us in on all the things going on during the race.  It is fascinating.

The race, the teams, the jerseys, the course.  It was fun to follow along with what was going on.  Soon, we were the only table that was loudly cheering the projected images on the wall.  Someone would make a break or a pass, and we would cheer and make loud zooming and whooshing noises.  Needless to say, we stood out.  The biggest distraction to the other bar customers was the sprint to the finish when we were all standing up and cheering on the guy trying to catch, pass the leader and win his first ever leg.  It almost happened and with a loud and boisterous "AWWWWWW, man he was sooooo cloose!" we sat, paid and then eventually parted ways with the bar.  However, we never really parted ways with the Tour.

We watched every leg we could and picked our favorite guys and it became THE sporting event to get us through the low valley between the Stanley Cup Finals and the beginning of College Football.

NDC Stories

"There is no finality to the Christian life this side of eternity."

Leonard Ravenhill

"If you live a life on continual mission, you are going to suffer."

Bernie Boudreaux

The second time I heard God speak was on a summenr afternoon in my parents kitchen when I was drunk.  I had hit bottom.  And in that dark pit of dispare, I cried.  I cried out, I yelled, I paced, I shook my fist.  And God answered.  That moment was the beginning of the journey that sets me before you today.

Shortly after that moment, I moved to Texas.  I started going to church and I started to see what it meant to be "Christian."  I saw men in suits with beautiful wives, well behaved and well dress children who seemed to be unshakeable.  To me, at that moment, they looked like they had it all together, they knew all the answers, they had all the keys.  I thought to myself, "I cannot wait until I know God, the bible, the church, and myself like they do.  They must live an awesomely blessed life and must feel like walking through double rainbows all day, everyday."

Little did I know then, those men and women didn't have all the answers.  They didn't live carefree and double rainbow filled lives.  Little did I know then, they had issues, problems, vices, temptations, bad behaviors and some lived a life almost totally devoid of daily interaction with God.  They cleaned up on Sundays real nice though.

Now that I have been through years of trials, tribulations, defeats and victories, I know that the relationship that I have with God is something I have worked hard to gain.  I dug into Him deep at times when I couldn't hear his voice.  I gained insight, wisdom and freedom over the issues that held me back from diving deeper into the ocean of God's grace and it didn't come easy.  Days were not filled with double rainbows, or even rainbows.  But rather filled with the prescense and knowledge of God while enduring some pretty nasty garbage.

If you have loved God for any length of time, you know what I am talking about.  If you are just starting out on your journey with Jesus, relish these early days.  The days of first meeting God and being enamered with who He is, what He is like, how He loves you and ultimately who you are to Him.  Draw as close as you can.  Linger in His presense for as long as you can.  Lift your hands, cry out to Him, dance, get wild and crazy because the sweetest time of any relationship is the meeting and getting to know you period.  No one thinks new believers are weird when they do crazy things, they are new.  We all need to retain those feelings for the length and bredth of our relationship with God.

To the young and old in Christ, never be complacent with where you are with God today.  Whether you have tasted victory over this world or if you are pushing, striving, looking, hoping and praying for that day, draw close to God.  When running a race, after you cross the finish line, you stop.  The christian life is a race, but overcoming an addiction, a bad behavior, family issues, doubts and unbelief is not the finish line.  Gaining victory over those things just to stop at what you thought was the finish line will end your growth as a man or woman of God.  This race, our race, is not done until we meet Jesus seated on His throne.

So what does this look like in my life?

If you have talked to me for ten minutes, then you probably know two things about me: 1) I love college football (specifically Texas football), almost as much as I love my wife; 2) I really, really, REALLY don't like my job.

My job is a burden to me.  I don't find life, passion, excitement or even a sense of satisfaction in a job well done there.  For the last couple of years, I have been complaining to my friends, family, D Group, Crown Class and now ... you.

Taking the angst down a notch, do I feel like God gave me this job?

When Rebeeca and I moved here in 2009, I was out of work for about six months.  During those months, I prayed that God would find a place for me in a company where I could shine my light, witness and live for God boldly, a place where I could live and work on continual mission.  I believe that He placed me in this job.

Outside of New Denver Church where is my greatest investment in people?  My company.
Where is my greatest opportunity to witness to non-believers and the unchurched?  My company.
It was once said to me, that if you live a life on continual mission, that you are going to suffer.
Great.  What do I do with that?

I dig in.  I dig deep into God.  It is hard for me to hear God's voice in the midst of all of my voices constantly complaining.  I can make quite the racket when I want to.  I do not want to abandon my mission field which God gave me before He has reeped the benifits of giving it to me and given me something else.  So, I continue sowing into the field that feels like an asphalt parking lot at times.    I push for opportunities of greatness in my life, in the life of my coworkers and bosses, all the while listening hard for the voice of God to tell me what to do next.  I shake off complacency like a winter coat and run towards God.

I really wish that this story was wrapped up with three easy steps for you to follow and an exclaimation point rather than the question mark or ellipses that I have for you today.  But, life is not like that a lot of the time.  Our stories are continually moving, changing, shifting and we along with them.  I believe the take home message is that in the midst of the our missions, which can feel like suffering, we need to listen for God as much as we did the day that we first believed.

Thank you for the opportunity to share with you today.  I appreciate it.