May 1 - Authenticity

Scripture focus: By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. Hebrews 11:8-10 (The Message)

Positioned in my grown up body with some adult responsibilities completed, I find myself pausing to prepare for a new stage of development. Our youngest child turned eighteen, and for all intents and purposes, he's an adult. As clear as crystal, I study my children and realize that from the first day they made their entrance into this world their authentic self was already etched within each tiny heart. Their temperaments, love languages, and unique worldviews have held steady as their shoe sizes have grown and their tastes in clothes have changed to match the times. I wonder if my parents feel the same about me. Truth be told, it is sometimes easier for a mother to appreciate her children than it is to know herself. Soon the last school lunch will be packed (over 29,000 made) and the last games, concerts and talent shows attended. The last report card will be signed, and the final report card treat (if appropriate) will be purchased. But for all the packing and purchasing and attending and scheduling and yes, sometimes fretting, that has occurred over the years, there's one truth that stands out in my mind: before I met my children, God knew them. They had no idea where they were going, and neither did their dad and I – but God did and he still does. The only authentic life worth living is the one God dreamed about as he knit each of us together in our mother's womb. Trapped in my own body with a limited perspective, I forget that I'm a work in progress. But watching my children morph into their true God-created identity triggers a memory – before I had preconceived notions about what I could and could not do, God had big plans for me. May each of us never grow too old, too weary, too isolated, too tired, too grown up – to find our way back to God and his big dreams for each of us.

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness…

William Wordsworth

Recommended reading: John 1 - 3

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 30: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. Hebrews 11:7 (The Message)

"As a result, Noah became intimate with God."

As a result of what?

By believing in God, knowing that God cared for him, Noah took a big risk and built a big boat on dry land.

Because he believed in God, Noah was willing to rely more on vision than sight.

A by-product of believing in the character and purposes of God, Noah was willing to obey God – even when it didn't make sense and Noah suffered as he served.

As a result, his family was saved.

When we embrace big believing and behave accordingly, other people receive good gifts as a result of our belief.

Do you remember in the scriptures how a paralyzed man was healed – because of the faith of his four friends? Thwarted from getting to Jesus in conventional ways, they climbed on the roof of a house Jesus was staying in, cut a hole in the roof and lowered their friend down to Jesus.

When we believe, life improves for those around us. In fact, big dreams that are driven by faith always involve this element: if our dreams are achieved, others benefit.

So here's a little quiz to test your dreaming.

Are your dreams self-centered and self-serving? If so, that may be fantasy living.

How are your dreams formed – by fantasies fueled with the potential for personal gain, or a firm commitment to helping others achieve their big dreams?

When we dream like Noah, our greatest gift may be becoming more intimate with God. Does that make your heart sing, or sink? Were you hoping for a more lucrative pay off? Depending on how you answer these questions, you are either a big dream believer or one person on a quest for fame and fortune. Who are you?

Recommended reading: Proverbs 27-31

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 29: Wake up and recover your life

Scripture focus: By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. "They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him." We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken "he pleased God." It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him. Hebrews 11:5-6 (The Message)

"Why did this happen to me? Is this my fault? Is it his fault?" She slumped down in her chair and tried to make sense of her suddenly serious life. Unaware of undercurrents of discontent, she was caught off guard when her spouse behaved in a way that she would have said was completely out of character. It was bad behavior by anyone's standards.

This wife's solution includes redoubling her efforts at goodness. Maybe she had become sloppy in her faith and if she improves her service to God, he'll fix her circumstances. The perspective of "love God and prosper / displease God and suffer" drives many believers' behavior.

Scripture doesn't quite say that. Certainly God's word does say we reap what we sow. But that verse is talking about cause and effect.

Why did Enoch skip death? Because he pleased God.

What pleases God? Is it our flawless behaving?

According to Hebrews 11, Enoch pleased God when he:

1. Believed that God exists; and
2. Knew that God cares and responds to those who seek him.
   

This is an act of faith.

Dreaming big dreams will require faith. Faith is a firm commitment to believing in God and a relentless search to deepen our understanding of who God is and how he relates to us.

May your biggest dreams be informed and guided by a deep and abiding commitment to knowing God.

Recommended reading: Proverbs 24-26

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 28: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice. Hebrews 11:4 (The Message)

Have you noticed anything else about the Cain and Abel story?

In a world where most of our movies have happy endings, it startles our senses when we realize that Abel, the guy who was the big believer with the better sacrifice, was murdered by Cain.

Shouldn't big believing result in celestial saving?

Wouldn't it be logical to think that God would put big believers in a kind of spiritual witness protection program?

Evidently, big believing doesn't exempt us from suffering.

Over the course of history, people seem stubbornly resistant to accepting the fact that suffering isn't necessarily a sign of punishment for disobedience. Remember Job's counselors? They couldn't handle the fact that a righteous man might suffer. Therefore, Job had to be at fault in some way.

It will require an act of faith to handle our suffering in a way that doesn't hinder our recovery. Some suffering is the result of wrong-doing – and we'll need to learn how to handle that circumstance. But that's not the only kind of suffering.

I wonder if it would be helpful to pause to prepare before judging the suffering of ourselves and others. May God give you fresh insights into suffering, so that we will be more prepared to carry each other’s burdens in the midst of suffering.

Recommended reading: Proverbs 21-23

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 27: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. Hebrews 11:3

At our house, March Madness is more important than most national holidays and religious events. We believe that filling out our brackets is more important than homework. Competition for being the best picker of the winners in the NCAA tournament is fierce.

When I choose my picks, I generally have three criteria: conference affiliation, team uniform colors and uniform style. There are some exceptions. I generally pull for the ACC teams, unless a particular team beat my beloved Virginia Cavaliers in an embarrassing manner during the regular season. I will never pick a team that combines purple and yellow on their uniform. That's practically a sin. Burgundy is a tricky red tone, and can lead to early disqualification if not designed with care. If the uniform is too busy, with doodads and whatnots on the sleeves or warm ups, they're out of contention in the first round.

The rest of my family considers the unseen, or at least in my mind, that which is not obvious to the untrained eye. They consider past tournament successes or failures, styles of play, weaknesses and strengths of both offense and defense. They take all these factors and actually compare them to the opposing team's style, strengths and weaknesses. My husband has some sort of elaborate program that he created to help with the analysis. It involves math, statistics, and probability. It required some computer programming. I personally think checking out the uniforms is a lot easier.

But here's the thing, and there's really no getting around it. It's hard to measure the heart. And sometimes that's exactly what tips the balance for a team. If we want to recover our life, we're going to have to develop a more sensitive eye. We will need to look beyond the obvious, and delve deeper into the unseen world.

May our hearts grow big as we find our way back to God, and grow in our appreciation of things not seen.

Recommended reading: Proverbs 18 - 20

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 26: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. Hebrews 11:1-2 (The Message)

What do you think makes life worth living?

Think about that, maybe take some notes.

I pray that today your mind and heart will be sharpened into greater awareness of what's truly valuable in this life.

Recommended reading: Proverbs 15 - 17

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 25: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: It won't be long now, he's on the way; he'll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy. But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive,
trusting all the way. Hebrews 10:39 (The Message)

The recovered life requires that we put our trust in the right person.

I am not trustworthy enough to carry a piece of eternity in my heart (see Eccl. 3:8) and see that God's purposes are realized.

The people I love can't be trusted to make me happy, bolster my self-esteem, meet my needs, and satisfy my longings. I can't make them happy, bolster their self-esteem, meet their needs or satisfy their longings either. As much as we might want to provide these things to those we love – we simply aren't equipped.

But here's the thing. God is and he will.

Our job is to trust that he will accomplish what he purposes. He will use us as he sees fit. When everyone and everything disappoints, we can't be quitters who lose out. We must stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

May we thrive in the rarified atmosphere that envelopes us as we loyally trust God in all things.

Recommended reading: Proverbs 12-14

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 24: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: If we give up and turn our backs on all we've learned, all we've been given, all the truth we now know, we repudiate Christ's sacrifice and are left on our own to face the Judgment—and a mighty fierce judgment it will be! If the penalty for breaking the law of Moses is physical death, what do you think will happen if you turn on God's Son, spit on the sacrifice that made you whole, and insult this most gracious Spirit? This is no light matter. God has warned us that he'll hold us to account and make us pay. He was quite explicit: "Vengeance is mine, and I won't overlook a thing" and "God will judge his people." Nobody's getting by with anything, believe me. Remember those early days after you first saw the light? Those were the hard times! Kicked around in public, targets of every kind of abuse—some days it was you, other days your friends. If some friends went to prison, you stuck by them. If some enemies broke in and seized your goods, you let them go with a smile, knowing they couldn't touch your real treasure. Nothing they did bothered you, nothing set you back. So don't throw it all away now. You were sure of yourselves then. It's still a sure thing! But you need to stick it out, staying with God's plan so you'll be there for the promised completion. Hebrews 10:26-38 (The Message)

I wonder if our context (addicted, impoverished, unemployed, wrong gender, wrong color, wrong education, etc.) has become an excuse for failing to dream big.

I wonder if our misguided view of suffering (it shouldn't happen, suffering is a bad thing and someone's fault, suffering is a sign God is punishing us, etc.) has caused us to lose our way.

We may have little control over the context we're born into, but we have total responsibility for the content of the life we live. It's a blessing to know that God makes us both willing and able, that we can have the mind of Christ, that God pours blessings and good gifts upon us whether we're naughty or nice.

But those blessings and God's care don't negate the reality that suffering happens.

It's my prayer that neither our context nor our suffering will limit our big believing.

Recommended reading: Romans 13 - 16 (click here to read the scriptures online)

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 23: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into "the Holy Place." Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The "curtain" into God's presence is his body. So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25 (The Message)

Daniel, Esther, you and I live within the confines of context. I was born at a time when women primarily stayed home and raised children – a high calling indeed. I grew up in the midst of a cultural earthquake. My daughter is experiencing life within the context of the expectation that she, like other young women her age, will have a career, a home, children, an excellent workout routine, eat organic, shrink the carbon footprint and in her spare time – save the world. Depending on a woman's birth date, the world's expectations have shifted dramatically in two generations. Time will reveal the effects of this contextual shift.

We are powerless over much of our life context. My grandmother used to tell me that if she were born in my day, she'd be a bank president – and I believed her. She never quite made peace with the Great Depression. Her first deposit into savings was lost when the bank crashed that very same week. My grandmother couldn't figure a way out and over her context – no higher education, born in a small agricultural community, expected to manage her home with grace (which she did beautifully). But in her heart, she dreamed of a world where a woman could hold a position that would figure out a way for no one to lose their hard earned money due to a bank failure.

My grandmother never made it to the top of the banking industry. Instead, she taught me how to sew and pull weeds and value patience by never ever letting me cut into her Four Day Coconut Cake before the allotted four days in the refrigerator to "set." But the most valuable lesson I learned from my grandmother was that I could and I should. She accepted the context of her life, but she never relinquished personal responsibility for the content of her life.

Her faith established the parameters of life experience – not the confines of her culture.

She taught me to believe that we are presentable inside and out because God said so. She said that we are to be full of belief, loaded with potential, and destined for fulfilled promises – again, because God said so. And if God said all these things, then each of us has a responsibility for the content of our life. Whatever the context, I am responsible for how I manage my opportunities – opportunities that come from God, not the world.

May we wake up each morning with the eager expectation that each day provides us with a chance to grow and learn and thrive.

Recommended reading: Romans 10 - 12

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 22: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this: This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; this time "I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts." He concludes, I'll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins. Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them. Hebrews 10:11-18 (The Message)

Are you trudging through life, bored and boring?

Something is not quite right.

You have been given a heart engraved by God. His etchings include big dreams and potential.

I pray you will go to whatever lengths it takes to recover your life!

Recommended reading: Romans 7 - 9

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 21: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old "law plan" wasn't complete in itself, it couldn't complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution. If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. The plain fact is that bull and goat blood can't get rid of sin. That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ: You don't want sacrifices and offerings year after year; you've prepared a body for me for a sacrifice. It's not fragrance and smoke from the altar that whet your appetite. So I said, "I'm here to do it your way, O God, the way it's described in your Book." When he said, "You don't want sacrifices and offerings," he was referring to practices according to the old plan. When he added, "I'm here to do it your way," he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan—God's way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. Hebrews 10:1-10 (The Message)

I have a friend who loves God and loves to live by the book. He doesn't like it that I, a woman, preach on Sundays. He thinks I should be more seen than heard. He is not intending to hurt me in any way when he writes and emails and sometimes calls to share this sentiment. He's trying to help me stay out of trouble. I can appreciate that. But recently he caught me on a Monday morning after one of those Sunday experiences that filled my spirit with a certain kind of other-worldly awareness that I was living right where God wants me. Sunday's message presentation had disappointed me. I wasn't happy with my delivery. But before those few minutes of messaging, and after the hoorah of the morning worship was complete, there were several very beautiful God moments. Moments that helped me see that I wasn't the point AND I was a small part of something very special. So when the call came that yet again sought to set me straight, I felt that this conversation needed to be more a dialogue than simply digesting his advice. I asked my friend if he knew what his core values were. What were his non-negotiables? He replied, "No women preachers!"

"But you aren't a woman. That can't possibly be God's core value for you. What's your mission? What's your purpose? What's your grand epic adventure?" He offered no response. Sometimes we grow up and become rigid and controlling because we're afraid to let go of rules and ideologies. We fear letting go of our preconceived notion of "right" because we may not have truly assimilated into our heart the big point, the core values, the bottom line of loving like God loves. Without these core values, we flounder in a sea of do's and don'ts. Learning how to adapt will help us recover our lives. If we don't learn how to dance with God, we may go around thinking that our job is to get other people to adopt our rules. Maybe one day I'll regret not sitting down and shutting up. But for right now, I'm trying to dance with God, adapt to his way in this current world, hear his voice and follow him. May we all recover our life – the one God dreamed for us to be lived out in our culture – not isolated from it.

Recommended reading: Romans 4 - 6

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Copyright 2009 NorthStarCommunity

Day 20: Wake up and recovery your life!

Scripture focus: But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's "tent"—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God. Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus' death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way. Hebrews 9:11-17 (The Message)

The book of Hebrews reminds us that this new thing that God is up to doesn't come with an instruction manual requiring compliance to all the rules. (I know I know – we do have God's word found in scripture. Hang with me on this point and don't jump to conclusions, or think that I'm denying the power of scripture and its role in our daily lives.) Scripture is chock full of instruction and information. But let's face it – we have to interpret and apply it to our lives. This is a challenge. But here's the good news: God isn't asking us to become rigid and ritualistic, rule-driven and so firm in our convictions that the world sees us as hard and brittle.

The new covenant is about learning how to live in committed relationship, not live to perform out of a sense of obligation.

This clarity helps us learn how to adapt. Certainly there are some non-negotiables, and we will learn them as we peer intently into the word of God, pray without ceasing and daily approach the throne of grace with confidence.

We have been brought together with God in a new way. We no longer focus on our behaviors alone. We can become a people who focus on who we are in Christ. We can learn what it means to care about what God cares about, do what God does, love as God loves. This is more like attending a dance than completing a daily set of drills.

May you hear God's music and dance with him today.

Recommended reading: Romans 1 - 3

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 19: Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: That first plan contained directions for worship, and a specially designed place of worship. A large outer tent was set up. The lampstand, the table, and "the bread of presence" were placed in it. This was called "the Holy Place." Then a curtain was stretched, and behind it a smaller, inside tent set up. This was called "the Holy of Holies." In it were placed the gold incense altar and the gold-covered ark of the covenant containing the gold urn of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, the covenant tablets, and the angel-wing-shadowed mercy seat. But we don't have time to comment on these now. After this was set up, the priests went about their duties in the large tent. Only the high priest entered the smaller, inside tent, and then only once a year, offering a blood sacrifice for his own sins and the people's accumulated sins. This was the Holy Spirit's way of showing with a visible parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can't just walk in on God. Under this system, the gifts and sacrifices can't really get to the heart of the matter, can't assuage the conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior. It's essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could be made. Hebrews 9:1-10 (The Message)

In yesterday's devotional, we were reminded that God's complete overhaul has been accomplished through Jesus. Some have concluded that with all that carving on our hearts and direct access to God – who needs community worship? Evidently we all do. If we can approach God directly, why do we need to go to church? I don't think you'll buy the "because God said so" answer, will you? It's a fine answer, and true too. But we humans have shown our natural propensity to ignore God's instructions. So even though the "God says so" statement ought to be enough for all of us to crawl out of bed and head to a house of worship on a regular basis, can I add to the discussion?

My spiritual mentor once told me that she was pretty sure that at her advanced age she had heard every sermon any preacher will ever preach. I believe her. Yet she never misses a worship service. She's lost her eyesight, but not her vision. I asked her how she kept her passion for attending a worship service she couldn't see, with music designed for a younger generation, parking that is often inconvenient, and frankly, a lot of her friends didn't hang out there anymore. She told me that her secret was to pray. To show up for someone else. To expect God to do something in and through and with her – that might be epic and grand. She assumes that some of that work is done in the midst of a worshiping community – because God says so. Recently she came to visit one of our NorthStar Communities. She had never been there before. She knew a handful of people. She was the last one to leave. She hugged people she didn't know, and they left feeling like they were her best friends – and they are right. Mama John loves lavishly. She is like a high priest who has entered the smaller, inside tent, every morning, afternoon and evening. She has tasted and seen that the Lord is good. She spreads this love around like a shepherd feeds his sheep. She enters the tent in privacy and approaches the throne of grace with confidence. She leaves out the back door and re-enters the world - filled to the brim with conviction, courage, and good gifts from God. Then she hands them out to the rest of us. We need more Mama John's in this world. Be a Mama John.

Recommended reading: Numbers 34-36

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 18 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper, isn't going to be chiseled in stone; this time I'm writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I'll be their God, they'll be my people. They won't go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They'll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great. They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven, with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean. By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and his people, God put the old plan on the shelf. And there it stays, gathering dust. Hebrews 8:10-13 (The Message)

If today's scripture focus doesn't wake you up – you don't have a pulse.

Listen carefully.

God says all get to know him firsthand. (I'm not seeing any exception clauses here. No names appear that say everyone but…Susan, Craig, Butch, Donna, Lucy. It says "all.")

The little and small get to know him. (So for those of us who feel empty, small and insignificant, God says we get to know him, too. Not just the super stars, all of us.)

The big and great get to know him. (God comes not just for the oppressed, imprisoned, lost, ignored and abandoned. He also comes for the big cheeses. So all you super stars out there, he's coming for you too.)

Not one freaking exception in this promise: all have access to God.

You, (fill in your name), are part of God's new plan. This plan is carved in the lining of your heart. You are God's man/woman. You won't need to go to seminary or read a bunch of books to learn the rules of play (although rumor has it seminary and reading good books is plenty fun). You, (fill in your name), are kindly forgiven, wiped clean inside and out, perfectly permitted to know God firsthand.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I bet you can't even get a real person to talk to about your phone service, but you can talk to God himself.

Like I said. If this doesn't wake you up, you don't have a pulse.

Recommended reading: Numbers 31-33

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 17 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post as high priest for us, in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:18-20 (The Message)

I hope you've taken the time to read Esther's story.

I've heard people say it is a love story, and it is. But maybe not the way we think of love stories. Esther rises to position of queen, and as queen, she is able to actively participate in a God moment. That's awesome.

But before that happened, she was an orphan, she was a concubine, she was in a harem, she was seen only as an object of beauty. Certainly we could have forgiven Esther if she had turned to depression, hopelessness, drink and drugs.

Esther, however, chooses a different path.

She adapts to her environment without adopting the core values of her surroundings.

She accepts her current circumstances without confusing them with her calling.

She learns how to wait patiently but has trained to take charge of the moment when her big dream potential presents itself.

She is flexible, bending but not breaking under the force of her difficult circumstances.

Ultimately, she is brave.

What have you learned from Esther that might help you fulfill God's purpose for your life?

Recommended reading: Esther 7 – 10

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 16 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line. He said, "I promise that I'll bless you with everything I have—bless and bless and bless!" Abraham stuck it out and got everything that had been promised to him. When people make promises, they guarantee them by appeal to some authority above them so that if there is any question that they'll make good on the promise, the authority will back them up. When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word, a rock-solid guarantee—God can't break his word. And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. Hebrews 6:13-18 (The Message)

God made a rock-solid guarantee to Abraham. Abraham saw those promises fulfilled. Because the scriptures compress the story, we might fail to attend to Abraham's "real-time" experience.

Years and years and years go by, and we wonder – where's my big dream?

In fact, Abraham was 75 years old when he got up and followed God's big dream for him.

I wonder if there are any self-imposed limitations that are holding us back: I'm too old, I've been at this to long without positive results, I don't have enough or the right kind of education, I'm the wrong gender, I'm not fit to serve, and on and on and on.

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, I wonder if you have doubted, prevaricated, paused too long, chickened out on living with an absolute full-out trust in God over and over and over again.

God offers up a rock-solid guarantee – he can't break his word. He has told not only Abraham, but us, that he wants to bless and bless and bless.

I wonder what blessings we might miss as we focus so hard on what is not quite right, not quite good enough, not okay.

Recommended reading: Esther 4 – 6

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 15 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: I'm sure that won't happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn't miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you've shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don't drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. Hebrews 6:9-12 (The Message)

During the next few days, we're reading the book of Esther. I know this may be something you don't ordinarily do, but would you do me a favor? Read the book of Esther, today, read the first three chapters.

As you read, take note of the following:

1. What circumstances in Esther's life could have caused her to lose hope in God, herself and others?
2. What do you notice about Esther's character and choices that you think contribute to her ability to change the world?
3. What could Esther teach us?
   

Recommended reading: Esther 1 – 3

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 14 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. Philippians 1:29 (The Message)

I love talking about trusting God. It's with great consternation that I ponder Philippians 1:29. I understand that Thomas Jefferson cut and pasted the bible, choosing what he liked, eliminating what he didn't. I'm Baptist-born. Cutting and pasting, picking and choosing what I do and do not want to believe in the bible sounds like something my Sunday School teacher would not approve of – so I try not to do it.

But sometimes, and I hate to admit this, I act more like Thomas Jefferson than I'd like to admit. I honestly prefer to talk about trusting God than suffering for him. And suffering as a gift? Really? How can that be?

Although I myself am probably too immature to understand this concept, I have friends who actually get it, and they report that indeed, the Apostle Paul was right on target when he says that suffering is as much a gift as the trusting.

Maybe that's why when I hopped on a treadmill at the fitness center, and the TV was tuned in to a televangelist telling me that if I trusted God, God would prosper me, I stayed tuned in. And I agreed with him! It's true, God will prosper his people – the bible says it, and I believe it. But I started fidgeting when the preacher man told me that prosperity was best defined by possessions and money.

The truth is, not all God's people flourish monetarily. Many people are born into seasons of political unrest, financial distress, war or famine. Even when the preacher is right, and some of God's children are born into unparalleled opportunity – does that guarantee that they will prosper?

I like thinking about trusting God when I can pair that trust with goodies.

But that's not the only thing scripture teaches us about trusting. Trusting also involves suffering. Suffering in its own strange and mysterious way is a gift from God. I don't understand this, nor do I wish to invite suffering into my life so that I might gain greater understanding.

But, if suffering shows up on my doorstep, I want to remember two things:

1. Trusting and suffering are not mutually exclusive states of being.
2. I have a lot to learn, and I do not need to allow the context of my life to define me. When I suffer, I can ask God to reveal to me the same truths that he showed Paul.
   

All of us can use suffering as an excuse to stop dreaming. Or, we can choose to use it as an opportunity to grow sturdier trust muscles. With those muscles, we are participating with God in the preparation process that will shape us into the kind of people who can change the world.

Recommended reading: Daniel 10 - 12

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 13 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they've personally experienced the sheer goodness of God's Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can't start over as if nothing happened. That's impossible. Why, they've re-crucified Jesus! They've repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God's "Well done!" But if it produces weeds and thistles, it's more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested. Hebrews 6:4-8 (The Message)

What causes one person to grow up deprived and end up depraved and another to thrive in the midst of barrenness? According to leadership experts, it's not about techniques or style, philosophy or opportunity. People who flourish are those who have the ability to adapt, renew, and reinvent in historically significant ways.

This requires an internal ability to choose to leave stupid behind, and become a lifelong learner. Great change agents aren't the ones with the best education but are more likely to be people who are the most teachable, curious and flexible. They don't hold onto their convictions too tightly, although that isn't to say they are loosey goosey with their core values.

According to a story told in the book Wide Awake, P.O.W.s in the Vietnam war were often killed by their captors if they were seen as a threat. If they looked strong and muscular, they were at risk. But the prisoners wanted to be able to escape should the opportunity present itself. So they adapted. They studied their environment, and recalled their core values.

In response to their circumstances, they decided to work on their "core." Although their biceps weren't bulky, they were building strong core strength, something modern day fitness gurus tell us is not only a good recommendation, it's a necessity if one wants to maintain optimum health.

Producing good food from parched ground will result in getting an 'atta boy (or girl)' from our heavenly Father. It can also change the world. What core values do you need to hold onto for dear life, while learning how to flex in your expression of them?

Recommended reading: Daniel 7 – 9

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 12 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: So come on, let's leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on "salvation by self-help" and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we'll stay true to all that. But there's so much more. Let's get on with it! Hebrews 6:1-3 (The Message)

Neither Daniel, Esther, nor any of us for that matter, choose the context from which our lives begin.

We do, however, get to choose the content and destination of the journey.

With God helping her, Esther learned how to work the system. She was teachable, adaptable, disciplined and prepared. She was resourceful, ingenious, creative and imaginative. It took great imagination to believe that God could use her – a concubine, a prostitute.

Who would have guessed that she would become Queen and eventually use her position to change the world?

You were created to be a grand work of art, growing up in Christ.

Preschoolers may dabble with their paints, but trusters of God get on with the business of becoming their true God-created identity. What's holding you back?

Recommended reading: Daniel 4 – 6

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 11 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. Hebrews 5:11-14 (The Message)

I hung up the phone after another one of those calls people hate to make. The old song refrain "Another one bites the dust…" rings in my ears as yet one more story reminds me of our human frailty and our predisposition to start the race of faith with enthusiasm, only to stall along the way.

Years ago my husband, Pete, coached one of our children's tee-ball teams. A little girl on the team preferred daisy picking to shagging fly balls. Her parents weren't too helpful either. Often in the midst of the game, dad would run out with his video camera and film whatever his little princess was doing – picking flowers, waving into the lens, whatever. It was an inauspicious start to a career in sports.

Daniel too started slow. Who would have thought that his life would prove such a testament to the power of God and his willingness to use one man to change the world? Daniel could have used his captive state to abdicate his responsibility to listen to God. After all, he might have (wrongly) concluded that God had forgotten him.

And what about Esther? Esther, an orphan raised by her Jewish Uncle Mordecai, taken captive and put in the king's harem, didn't have it easy either. Intelligent and beautiful, she was assigned the job of preparing for pleasuring the king. It was like one long nightmare of beauty preparation – and for what? So that she was treated like a prostitute? But as we read, we realize that Esther changed the world. She didn't let her abandonment issues overcome God's call to learn how to listen to his voice.

If we're going to recover our life, it's not going to be enough to allow our false starts and missteps to define our future. We must discard our bad habit of not listening. We need practice in telling right from wrong.

Recommended reading: Daniel 1 - 3

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 10 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it's like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples'. No one elects himself to this honored position. He's called to it by God, as Aaron was. Neither did Christ presume to set himself up as high priest, but was set apart by the One who said to him, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you!" In another place God declares, "You're a priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek." While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God's Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him. Hebrews 5:1-10 (The Message)

When Daniel was taken off to captivity in Babylon, how did he decide what honoring God would look like in this strange new world? For instance, Daniel knew not to eat the food of the court or drink their wine. He managed to skirt that expectation, and in so doing, he honored God.

But when they changed his name he didn't protest. He accepted the new moniker. He adapted. Names are very sacred. They define a person. But Daniel flexed.

When the Babylonians put him through a rigorous course of study on all things Babylonian, he and his friends became smarter and wiser about the ways of Babylon than the Babylonians themselves!

But when an edict was passed that said no one was allowed to pray, Daniel continued to pray and didn't even close his windows or hide his faithful commitment to God. On this issue, Daniel was unwilling to adopt the ways of others.

Maturity comes as we trustingly obey. And when we fail, our failures are handled gently. Success or failure, confusion or clarity – whatever condition we find ourselves in – God is for us, with us, working in and through us. I don't know how Daniel got it right so often, but I do know he had a lot of help. He suffered and struggled, pondered and prayed. It sounds so clear cut as we read about Daniel's life, all so neatly summed up in the book of Daniel. But read carefully. Much of the time Daniel was also in distress. Maturity may require trusting but it also produces suffering. Suffering isn't always a sign that we've messed up, sometimes it's a sign we're on our way to big dream believing.

Recommended reading: Numbers 28-30

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 9 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today." The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God. So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience. God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God's Word. We can't get away from it—no matter what. Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. Hebrews 4:8-16 (The Message)

One of the things big dreamers seem to adore is using their imagination. They love to shake things up. They embrace change.

At our house, we have a little inside joke. "McBeans fear change," we say to each other when we find ourselves fearing our dreams and doubting our beliefs. It's a little way of acknowledging our need to remember that our High Priest has ready access to God and is in total touch with our weaknesses. It's a way of confessing that although we think it sounds like a good idea to embrace our dreams, adapt, experiment and become a pioneer – we really prefer security and safety. Not so cool, but honest.

Here are some of the things we fear:

• We fear change because we like our life "as is" most days of the week.
• We fear change because it doesn't arrive in a memo, fax or email from God – all spelled out with a guarantee of satisfaction or our money back. (More on this false belief on day sixteen.)
• We actually prefer to paint-by-numbers because we doubt our creativity and ability.
• We like the idea of being on a team that facilitates needed change, but we're old enough to realize that saying "yes" to one thing inevitably means we've said "no" to something else – and we fear the cost.
• We realize that sometimes God calls us to bring change, but more often than not change is what we need. And, like I said, we fear change, especially when we're the ones that need to do it.

Isn't it great that even in the midst of all this fear, we can still be people who walk right up and get the good gifts God is so ready to give? God doesn't need us to feel brave before he equips us. He shows us how to act brave. May we all stand taller, love larger and dream bigger today, whether we fear change or not.

Recommended reading: Numbers 25-27

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 8 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." God made that vow, even though he'd finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work," but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest." So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear... Hebrews 4:1-7 (The Message)

One of the ways we get disqualified from the race is by abusing the privilege of being called an explorer, an adventurer, a pioneer. The most ardent explorers, adventurers, and pioneers live within limits. One of the most adventurous people I know is my dad. I think he might have been born in the wrong era. His temperament type seems more suited for exploring new, uncharted lands inhabited by wild beasts than living in suburbia.

If he'd been around before those guys in Genesis, he'd have invented a tent or forged tools from bronze. (The harp and flute would have needed to wait for someone else to come along!) But here's the thing about my dad – he's a cautious adventurer.

When he flies, he checks his aircraft meticulously. He keeps careful records, has the appropriate inspections, kicks the tires and wriggles the flaps before every flight.

Faith provides us with the courage to strap on wings to fly and the wisdom to know that we better not fly too close to the sun. Faith teaches us to dream big, but reminds us that we must play by God's rules. The ends do not justify the means.

God keeps renewing the promise, asking us to listen and not turn a deaf ear. Part of that listening involves being willing to play by his rules. Live with character. Love others more. Care about what God cares about.

Is it possible that the fulfillment of our dreams is on hold while God waits for us to learn the fine art of listening?

Recommended reading: Numbers 22-24

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 7 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: These words keep ringing in our ears: today, please listen; don't turn a deaf ear as in the bitter uprising. For who were the people who turned a deaf ear? Weren't they the very ones Moses led out of Egypt? And who was God provoked with for forty years? Wasn't it those who turned a deaf ear and ended up corpses in the wilderness? And when he swore that they'd never get where they were going, wasn't he talking to the ones who turned a deaf ear? They never got there because they never listened, never believed. Hebrews 3:14-19 (The Message)

Recall with me how Moses' people longed for freedom – and then whined when it happened. They didn't have the fortitude to listen, really hear God's voice and follow him.

People who live a recovered life are adaptable. They are flexible. They learn how to bend without breaking.

The seeds of an unrecovered life are planted when we focus on our inadequacies and the shortcomings of others.

What were the Israelites thinking? Did they suppose God was a tricky trickster – leading them out of captivity loaded with loot only to let them die in the desert?

Don't we suffer from the same syndrome? Isn't it easier to worry like a modern day Chicken Little about the stability of the sky than it is to actually raise our arms and hold up a small cloud?

I know it's easier to give up and give in than it is to get up and get moving.

But God has shown us a better, although not particularly easier way. If we learn how to listen, and decide to believe, then he will deliver.

Be ye delivered.

Recommended reading: Numbers 19-21

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 6 - Wake up and recover your life

Scripture focus: That's why the Holy Spirit says, today, please listen; don't turn a deaf ear as in "the bitter uprising," that time of wilderness testing! Even though they watched me at work for forty years, your ancestors refused to let me do it my way; over and over they tried my patience. And I as provoked, oh, so provoked! I said, "They'll never keep their minds on God; they refuse to walk down my road." Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest." So watch your step, friends. Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God. For as long as it's still God's Today, keep each other on your toes so sin doesn't slow down your reflexes. If we can only keep our grip on the sure thing we started out with, we're in this with Christ for the long haul. Hebrews 3:12-14 (The Message)

Real genius isn't about identifying a problem, but solving it.

Any schlub can come up with what's wrong with the world, with others and even with themselves. I wonder if all our whining and complaining about the sorry state of all manner of things exasperates God. I wonder if focusing so much on our problems is diverting us from the living God, slowing down our reflexes and hindering our progress.

Seeing a problem only lets you know where the limits are if you don't solve it.

Only the men and women willing to keep our minds on God, undiverted from the living God – are equipped to creatively get a grip on life and make it with Christ for the long haul.

God created us to be adaptable. That's good news. It will take all the adaptability, fortitude, courage and creativity we can muster to accomplish all that is necessary to change the world. And I think even the most problem-focused would agree that the world needs some renovation.

Be warned. God doesn't solve the problem for us. He works with us to solve the problem, using people who won't give up. Be one of those guys.

Recommended reading: Numbers 16 - 18

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 5 - Wake up and recover your life

Scripture focus: So, my dear Christian friends, companions in following this call to the heights, take a good hard look at Jesus. He's the centerpiece of everything we believe, faithful in everything God gave him to do. Moses was also faithful, but Jesus gets far more honor. A builder is more valuable than a building any day. Every house has a builder, but the Builder behind them all is God. Moses did a good job in God's house, but it was all servant work, getting things ready for what was to come. Christ as Son is in charge of the house. Now, if we can only keep a firm grip on this bold confidence, we're the house! Hebrews 3:1-6 (The Message)

God not only gave us the capacity to grow and learn - he warns us that it will require character and commitment to stay on task. Jesus is indeed the centerpiece of everything we believe – but let's not forget – Jesus' attention is on us, he wants to build something within us. Encouraged by McManus's perspective, I'm reading Genesis with wide awake eyes (and following along as McManus shows me the way). I learn that not only are we created to grow and learn, but we're designed to be creative and solve problems.

Lots of people know how to elucidate problems. In fact, so many people spend so much time pointing out problems that I sometimes get confused and think it's our job to watch out for and make note of all the problems we come across each day. This has been a challenge for me. I find it draining and disheartening. I realize now that I wasn't created to run in search of all life's problems like it's some sort of mission statement! Problems in need of solution inevitably reveal themselves. Naming 'em isn't the point – solving them is where the real challenge and opportunity lay.

As I read through Genesis 4, I discover Jubal. He invented the harp and flute. Jabal invented the tent. Tubal-Cain figured out how to make tools out of bronze and iron – all that creativity in one little paragraph! Who knows how many peopled whined about getting wet when it rained – but only one thought to make a tent. Who knows how many failed to notice the absence of beautiful music – only one figured out how to make music with a harp and flute. And while some were throwing stones and practicing their slingshot technique (it worked for David), only one looked at the ground and saw all that bronze and iron and put it to good use. Notice also that future generations received the benefit of the creative force exerted by these three men.

Our youngest is headed off to college in the fall. His focus will be music related. I've been asked about whether or not I think it would be better for Michael to pick a more practical major. I say – "No way!" I want both my boys and my daughter to know that they can change the course of human history. But it will require a sense of wonder and curiosity. It will require them to dream big. They'll have to eliminate the temptation to pick the low hanging fruit of problem identification and be willing to surrender themselves into the hands of the builder. I want that same sense of adventure and pioneering spirit to ignite within all of us. The Son is in charge of the house. Let the building proceed!

Recommended reading: Numbers 13 - 15

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 4 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family, saying, I'll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you; I'll join them in worship and praise to you. Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me. Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death. It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed. Hebrews 2:10-18 (The Message)

I've read the book of Genesis so often that I must confess – I developed a habit of skim-reading it. Erwin McManus finds new pearls of wisdom within the same pages that I had begun to lose interest in. In his book, Wide Awake, he woke me up to some new and exciting truths that I had missed. Why did I miss them? Because I stopped being curious! I began to believe that there was nothing in Genesis that I hadn't heard before. But the moment I stopped being teachable I stopped learning. According to McManus, we are created with unlimited learning capacity. But my example proves that we can thwart that potential if we become arrogant. If we're going to recover our lives, it will require us to continue to be lifelong learners – humble and teachable. That said, I re-read Genesis with a more wide awake perspective, and discovered that indeed, McManus is right. Here's what I noticed. According to the scriptures, Adam was able to learn all the names of all the animals. Can you imagine it? He knew the names of all the birds! At NorthStar Community we have a personality test we like to give to all our members. Affectionately termed the "bird test," partakers of this training experience are categorized as either eagle, dove, peacock or owl. I can't keep four bird types straight and yet Adam knew them all. He could tell a swallow from a finch, a crow from a raven, a hummingbird from a lark, a robin from a cardinal. Adam knew a blue jay when he saw one. In a culture and time that is telling us what we can't do – can't repair the economy, can't save our jobs, can't provide healthcare for those in need, etc., and constantly reminding us of what we lack, what's wrong, and how we seem to never quite get it right – God tells a different tale. We are created to resolve and solve, dream and fulfill. We are designed to be learners with a teacher willing and able to reveal great mysteries to us. The world may doubt our abilities to achieve, but our Creator God does not. May you dream big today, and do the next right thing that moves you closer to dream fulfillment.

Recommended reading: Numbers 10 - 12

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 3 - Wake up and recover your life!

Scripture focus: It's crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we've heard so that we don't drift off. If the old message delivered by the angels was valid and nobody got away with anything, do you think we can risk neglecting this latest message, this magnificent salvation? First of all, it was delivered in person by the Master, then accurately passed on to us by those who heard it from him. All the while God was validating it with gifts through the Holy Spirit, all sorts of signs and miracles, as he saw fit. God didn't put angels in charge of this business of salvation that we're dealing with here. It says in Scripture, what is man and woman that you bother with them; why take a second look their way? You made them not quite as high as angels, bright with Eden's dawn light; then you put them in charge of your entire handcrafted world. When God put them in charge of everything, nothing was excluded. But we don't see it yet, don't see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made "not quite as high as angels," and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory "bright with Eden's dawn light." In that death, by God's grace, he fully experienced death in every person's place. Hebrews 2:1-9 (The Message) Have you ever noticed that some people dream and never do while others do and never dream? It seems that we mortals have vision problems that aren't always solved with a carefully chosen pair of prescription lens.

This isn't a new problem. In Acts chapter ten, Peter had vision issues. God had a big dream for Peter, but it lay outside Peter's field of vision. Cornelius, a thoroughly good man who was also a Gentile needed someone to bring him God's message of hope. The message bringer God chose was Peter.

Now this is a very strange choice. It wouldn't occur to Peter that God would send him, a Jew, to speak God's message to a Gentile! Peter says, "You know, I'm sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don't do this – visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked." (Acts 10:27-29 The Message)

It took a vision from God to show Peter the way to a big (and unconventional) dream. Because Peter trusted God, he followed. Once he followed, God used Peter to bestow a gift (and a very big dream) on Cornelius.

I wonder what dreams lay outside the perimeter of your field of vision? It's crucial that we get a firm grip on the power of God to do in and through and with us far more than we have yet allowed ourselves to imagine.

Recommended reading: Numbers 7 - 9

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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community

Day 2 - Wake up and recover your life

Scripture focus: Going through a long line of prophets, God has been addressing our ancestors in different ways for centuries. Recently he spoke to us directly through his Son. By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words! Hebrews 1:1-3 (The Message)

We were created to live dreams bigger and bolder than we can ever imagine. Jesus came for us, knowing that we would have to believe in something bigger than ourselves to wake up and live. According to McManus, God gives God-sized dreams to people with God-sized hearts. Part of the way God works in us is to give us a dream. My dreams and longings are one way God whispers to me, getting my attention, spurring me on.

Do you remember the story of Joseph? He was a big dreamer – and his dreams resulted in big trouble. Because Joseph was quite the goof and talked about his dreams in front of his jealous older brothers, he ended up sold into slavery and experienced years of misfortune. Joseph's dreams eventually began to come true. But the process took decades.

Our big dreams may only be achieved after years and years of sacrifice and suffering. But they will never arrive if we give up on them altogether. Some of us have gotten more comfortable with security than sacrifice. Why risk what we have on the chance that a bigger dream might be possible?

Frankly, I sometimes worry that dreaming is risky business. My mind toggles between trying to be satisfied with the life I have and wondering if I might be missing the life God planned for me. Can you relate? After reading McManus' book Wide Awake, I've had a new thought. I am coming to believe that I can have daily life satisfaction that includes a commitment to dreaming big. My next hesitation about allowing myself to dream comes when I fearfully consider whether I might be doing – or not doing - something that prevents the fulfillment of God's plans for me. Even with all this fear and trepidation I've decided that whether I'm in the midst of living out my dream life, or still searching for it – there is one response that is always appropriate. I must continue to work on becoming a person of character. Being a person of integrity never goes out of style. We must become the person God desires for us to be in order to fulfill God's dreams for us.

This morning I found myself getting a bit bored running along on the treadmill. I realized that I was getting complacent and acting as if I had reached my peak performance. Immediately I upped my dream and my speed. I added a little resistance just to keep things interesting. I beat my own personal record – pitiful though it may be if I compared my performance to a true athlete (lucky for me I don't compare myself with others).

I'm feeling like a big dreamer today – with greater potential than I realized. How about you? Are you dreaming big, or living satisfied with the status quo?

Recommended reading: Numbers 4 - 6

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