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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Copyright 2009 NorthStar Community