But Jesus would often go to some place where he could be alone and pray. (Luke 5:16 CEV)

Some married couples have a favorite restaurant where they go for important nights out. They love the atmosphere. They find it easy to talk in that environment, and they look forward to going there. It’s a special place in their relationship.

Some families have a regular vacation spot that feels almost like a second home to them. Great things happen to the family there; special memories are created.

In a similar way, when you create a secret place where you can really pray, over time you will forward to going there. You will begin to appreciate the familiar surroundings, sights, and smells. You will grow to love the aura of the place where you freely converse with God.

I created such a prayer room near the credenza in a corner of my office. In my prayer place I put an open Bible, a sign that says God is able, a crown of thorns to remind me of the suffering Savior, and a shepherd’s staff that I often hold up while making requests.

That office corner became a holy place for me. There I communed with the Lord. I poured out my heart to him, worshipped him, prayed for member of my congregation and received remarkable answers to prayer.

If you want to learn how to pray, find yourself a quiet place free of distractions. Go there during the best part of your day. Meet with the Lord there regularly, every day.

[from Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels.]

OK…so this Saturday night we “spring forward!”

I love it because there is more daylight…that means more time outside with the family…more time to throw stuff on the grill & watch it sizzle…more time to do yard work…and more time to enjoy Rita’s!   

However, I am bitter because we lose an hour of sleep, but the trade off is worth it.

Anyway, just wanted to remind everyone…SPRING FORWARD SATURDAY NIGHT…that means wind your clock FORWARD an hour!

If you forget you’ll throw off your worship schedule for Sunday, and trust me…you don’t want to do that this week!

It’s been said that the average child laughs 300 times a day and the average adult laughs 15 times a day. I don’t know how authoritative this statistic is, since I see it quoted often but never with a source.

However, it really doesn’t take a Harvard study to prove that children laugh more times a day than adults. Hanging out with both for a while confirms this.

Solomon was right on target when he said, “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” (Proverbs 17:22) Laughter has been shown to have many health benefits, from reducing food cravings to increasing one’s threshold for pain. It relieves stress and anxiety and improves your sleep. A good laugh really is good medicine.

There’s also a social component to laughter; it brings people together. C.S. Lewis once said, “There’s no sound I like better than adult male laughter.” That’s because there’s nothing better than friends and family coming together to celebrate life and enjoy one another’s company.

When you’re alone and when you’re with friends and family, I encourage you to invest some time in laughter each and every day.  You’ll find that what Milton Berle said is true: “Laughter is an instant vacation.”

Jeff Leake, Lead Pastor of Allison Park Church in the Pittsburgh area, wrote the following recently about how the internet and social media has impacted his ministry. 

I thought it was so good I had to share it:

So much has changed in the past five years with online interaction.  Five years ago, I didn’t even really know what a ‘blog’ was.  Now, I tweet, I blog, and I facebook just about every day.  As a pastor and leader these have all become important tools in the way I do ministry.

Here’s how I am strategically choosing to use Facebook:

• Inspiration - Since I link my Twitter feed to my Facebook status, I can post a proverb or promise every day that might be a source of encouragement to people with whom I am in relationship as their pastor or friend.
• Preparation - I often use my Twitter/Facebook status as a way to get people’s opinions about an upcoming topic I am preparing to speak on.  Last week I asked the question, ‘what will your first thought be when you open your eyes in heaven.’  I used some of the responses I collected on Facebook as my introduction to my message for the weekend.
• Communication - Since there are hundreds of people in my congregation on Facebook, I can promote upcoming events and share testimonies through the social network that is already there.
• Interaction - Many people feel most comfortable asking questions or dialoguing with on Facebook because it is such an informal means of interaction.  Young people (especially teens) will comment to me about a message that I preached or asking me a question they were wondering about through Facebook.
• Instruction - Since I can link my blog posts to my Facebook page, I can also teach through this process.  Sometimes I provide a follow-up thought to a message that I shared.  Sometimes I will provide some devotional thoughts from my own personal study.  Sometimes I link to resources from other blogs and sites.  All of this adds to the ‘discipleship’ process.
• Conversation – There are many times where I have had spiritual conversations with ’spiritual seekers’ who are interested in a safe way to discuss their questions or concerns about faith in Christ.  Sometimes these conversations happen with people I went to High School with or those that I may have met in an airport (and then connected with later on Facebook).
• Personalization – Since Facebook allows for videos, pictures, and other ‘life-oriented’ revelations, it allows me to share a little more detail about who I am and what I am interested in.  This is important for a pastor, because many times people have this other-worldly view of what a pastor is or is not.  Many people have told me they were afraid to approach me or talk to me because of my position or title.  When they seem me goofing off on Facebook, it removes that invisible unnecessary barrier.

The average person talks to himself or herself thousands of times a day. For many people, much of that self-talk is negative. “You’re so stupid!” one says to oneself. “Why can’t you do anything right? You’ll never get a break. You’ll never succeed. You don’t have a chance. You’ll never change.”

Sadly, these words reinforce what we believe about ourselves, and they influence the actions we take.

We find it far too easy to believe in the power of our weaknesses and failures; we find it far too difficult to believe in the power of the God who came to transform us into his likeness.

God spoke through Joel this simple phrase: “Let the weak say ‘I am strong.’” (Joel 3:10) He was talking about the day of battle; he was guaranteeing his people a victory.

Every day is the day of battle for followers of Jesus. We fight temptation, discouragement, apathy, and failure — day in, day out. And in the midst of battle, God reminds us that victory is ours.

Therefore, let the weak say I am strong — for (as David proclaimed when facing Goliath) “The battle is the Lord’s.”

1 – The Sovereignty of God - The longer I am in ministry the more I believe that God really does have the whole world in His hands. 

I believe one of the reasons so many ministry leaders carry so much stress around is simple: we can teach that He reigns…but deep down we don’t really believe it as evidenced by the frantic worry that dominates our lives.  

2 – The Supremacy of Scriptures – I LOVE telling stories, I LOVE using stage props, I LOVE bringing in video illustrations…but NOTHING trumps the supremacy of the Scriptures.  If a church/ministry is going to be successful it cannot begin by saying, “I have this really great video idea, can we find a Scripture verse to support it?” 

Correct theology must drive our methodology–always!  At the end of the day the people coming to our churches need to hear God’s Word more than they need to hear anything else.

3 – The Counsel of Coaches - There is a huge difference between a critic and a coach.  No player on the field of play accomplished great things because he stopped and listened to everyone in the stands who had an opinion. 

But he had better listen to the coaches that are placed in his life if he ever wants to accomplish more than he thought possible.  The bottom line:  there needs to be people in your life you listen to and seriously consider everything they say…no leader has been called to fly solo! 

You cannot listen to everyone…but you had better be listening to someone.  I am so thankful for the great coaches Jesus has allowed to come into my life at CLC!

4 – The Realization of Matthew 16:13-18 – Scripture is clear that it is His church, that He will build it.  Reality is this…He loves the church, cares for the church and wants to see it succeed way more than I do. 

In fact, the very love I have for the church was placed into me by Him!  I don’t have to convince Him to keep His eye on the church–it’s already here!!!

5 – The Belief in Greater Things – I believe there is more in store for the local church, not just CLC, but every church that throws off meaningless things and embraces who God is and what He has called them to do! 

Ephesians 3:20 is one of my favorite verses…and it is a foundational verse at CLC as well.  Yes, we can celebrate the past–but we cannot live there because He is a God who is able to do greater things! 

The thought of, “what is He going to do next” absolutely FIRES me up…and keeps me desperate for HIM!

Great quote I had to share!

Through Jesus, we all have to face the embarrassing truth that we ourselves are our primary problem. It is we who must die, he teaches, not others!

Our greatest temptation is to try to change other people instead of ourselves.

Jesus allowed himself to be transformed and thus transformed others. That is the meaning of the necessary death of Jesus. –Richard Rohr, Things Hidden

A few years ago John Ortberg wrote an article for Christianity Today called Happy Meal Spirituality.  He says…

When you buy your kid a Happy Meal, you’re not just buying fries, McNuggets, and a toy; you’re buying happiness. Their advertisements have convinced my children they have a little McDonald-shaped vacuum in their souls: “Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in a Happy Meal.”

The problem with the Happy Meal is that the happy wears off, and they need a new fix. No child discovers lasting happiness in just one: “Remember that Happy Meal? What great joy I found there!”

Happy Meals bring happiness only to McDonalds. You ever wonder why Ronald McDonald wears that grin? Twenty billion Happy Meals, that’s why. 

Ortberg finishes this idea by saying, “When you get older, you don’t get any smarter; your happy meals just get more expensive.”

What’s the last Happy Meal you bought for yourself? A car? Some clothes? A house? A spouse? How long did it last? No matter how hard we try, or how much we spend, as long as we live with a happy meal mentality, happiness will elude us.

Ortberg paraphrased a familiar quote by St. Augustine: “Our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee.” Or as David said it, “My soul finds rest in God alone…” (Psalm 62:1)

Take a moment today to think about your next Happy Meal. Instead of pursuing one more thing, one more possession, one more acquisition … instead of striving for bigger numbers or better money or more praise directed your way … spend a few minutes alone with the God who loves you, and let his presence in your life satisfy you.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.  (Isaiah 55:2)

There are some things in life that are ALWAYS going to happen…no matter what, such as…

There will always be 28 cash registers @ Wal Mart, two will actually be open, and you will always be in the slow one.

There will always be someone who pulls out in front of you and goes much slower than you were going…when, if they would have waited for two seconds they could have pulled behind you because another car wasn’t even in sight!

People will always ask, “Did I wake you up?” when they call at 3:00 am!   ALWAYS!

There are some things in ministry that will always take place as well…or always need to be happening:

1 – People Will ALWAYS Attack Your Vision

Whether you are a ministry leader, pastor, youth pastor or small group leader–people will attack you if you have vision.

I have discovered people are either (A) motivated by vision…OR…(B) they are intimidated by it…and if they are the latter then they will attack.

By the way…if people are not attacking your vision then I would say you don’t necessarily have a vision…what you have is more like a daydream!

Get used to it…when you have a desire to do something great for God then the enemy will be ticked off…and he will use some of the most unlikely sources to come after you. Stay the course!

2 – People Will Always Question Your Motives

You had better know why you do what you do…because there are tons of people out there who will be glad to tell others why you do what you do…and it will actually have nothing to do with why you are doing what you are doing. 

It is very healthy to question your own motives…VERY healthy. 

However, you will never…and I mean NEVER…be able to explain yourself to some people…and you will waste VALUABLE kingdom time trying to do so.

I’ve heard it said so well…your friends won’t need an explanation…and your enemies won’t believe you anyway!

3 – You Will Always Have People Leave

I will be honest–that hurts; however, I realized it’s ok. Some of the people who have left have plugged into other churches and are valuable kingdom servants…and I praise God for that.

Two things to keep in mind about people:

• Don’t get caught up in what is being said about you, whether good or bad. I had a friend make a comment to me once that I have never forgotten, “be careful when it comes to people–because those who deify you will crucify!”
• The second thing…no matter how many times you get burned…you CANNOT stop loving people!

Jesus said to love God and love people are the two most important commands! You CAN’T let a person, or a small group of people, force you to live in a cave. As a church we are called to reach people…even the difficult ones.

4 – You Should Always Ask The Question, “Why Do I Do What I Do?”

I remember several months ago I was talking with Marvina one night about ministry. It had been a rough week…I had taken a lot of personal shots…and I was exhausted. I told her, “There are much easier jobs out there.” She laughed and made the comment, “There sure are…and you would not be happy doing ANY of them!”

She’s right…I do what I do because of Jesus. He completely changed my life, power washed my soul and made me into a brand new person. I have been going through the book of Hebrews over the past several days…and there the author challenges us to fix our thoughts and our eyes on Jesus!

I ask myself that often, “Why do I do what I do?” And the reason is always the same…I could not imagine myself doing anything else. Jesus set my soul on fire and it just keeps getting hotter!

A man there was and they called him mad; the more he gave the more he had. –John Bunyan

We hear a great deal about the Lord loving cheerful givers; we wonder where he finds them. — Edgar Watson Howe

It is better to give than to lend, and it costs about the same. — Erich Fromm

Blessed are those who are give without remembering and take without forgetting. — Elizabeth Bibesco

He who gives what he would as readily throw away gives without generosity, for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice. — Henry J. Taylor