When my wife gets angry…

I bet the title of this post got your attention, huh?  This is a quote from Wednesday night… 17 things you should never do in an argument:  When my wife gets angry, she gets HISTORICAL!  Not Hysterical, but Historical!  She is great at bringing up the past.  Let the Past be the Past!  I think that quote is really great.  We all love to bring up the past.  Or maybe it is just me.  Let’s stop that junk.  Ok?  Ok.

Have you watched the THAT’S MY KING video yet?  If you STILL have not done it, you gotta do it!  I like to watch it every day.  It gets me excited.  It’s the Truth!

Every Friday morning some high school guys and I meet at 7, eat pancakes and watch a NOOMA video.  I thought about calling it Pancakes and Prayer but quickly realized that no non-Christian high school dude is gonna come to something called Pancakes and Prayer…so now I just call it Pancakes!  Simple.  Easy.  TASTY!

In this mornings video called TODAY, Rob Bell asked, ‘how much time do we spend thinking about the past?’  Wishing we could go back.  Were those really the best days of your / my life?  For Real?  I think men are really guilty of this.  I know tons of dudes that talk about ‘back when I was growing up’ or ‘remember when’ scenarios and so many of us are not living for today.  What a shame.  I think about my past and how much I have ENJOYED my life / past!  It is amazing.  And I am serious.  I Loved Elementary, Middle and High School!  I had so many friends, was involved in so many things, played sport (yes, that is singular!) and just simply enjoyed life and felt like it was lived to the full.

And today?  Today is really no different!  Times have obviously changed.  I have much more responsibility today than I ever have.  That is a little restrictive, but still really incredible!  Tons of friends.  Involved in much.  I am not playing many sport (still singular) these days.  I love to drop this line to people when they ask if I am gonna play Football, Basketball or Ultimate Frisbee……..’Well, I would, but I have had 2 knee surgeries.  I don’t think my newest ACL is up to par and I don’t want to risk it.’  What that really means is that I am lazy and not interest.  Just kidding.  It is true.  I am a little gunshy about this newest surgery.  I just don’t want to blow ACL #3, you know what I mean?  Dang…

Anyhow, my friend Matt is always saying, ‘Is what YOU are living for, worth dying for?’  That’s a great question.  Is what I am living for, worth dying for?  I think so.  What kind of impact are you having on those around you?  Since you are reading this blog, you are obviously a leader.  I mean, only Real Leaders read this site, right?  Wink.  Wink.  But seriously, is what YOU are living for, worth dying for?  That question should keep you up at night.  I sure do know a ton of people who don’t like their jobs.  And they can’t leave.  Too much commitment.  Not financially secure enough.  Married with kids.  Just can’t go.  Personally, I don’t want to get to the end of my life and ‘wish’ I would have done this or that.  No regrets, right?  It is so sad to me how unmotivated kids are these days.  So content doing … Nothing.  Not all kids, but a whole lot of them.  This is a real struggle for me.  It makes me angry. 

How all of this spawned from ‘When my wife gets angry, she get Historical,’ I don’t know, but it did.  Funny how that happens.

Are you enjoying life?  Is this season hard for you?  

Know this……… Never Live Liked You’re Not Loved! 

Life in the Fast Lane…

It amazes me how fast life can mooooooooooooove…

Does life move fast for you?  Maybe it is just in my world.  But I think it probably is the same for you as well.

In my Daily Bible, our Judges readings have come to an end for now and we have moved on to 1 Samuel.  This makes me frown because I enjoyed thoroughly the stories in Judges… the Pulp Fiction of the Bible as one once called it! 

But before we move on to Samuel, I wanted to share what the author of the DB had to say about Judges 17 & 18 – Micah and The Danites.  You really should read this stuff.  It’ll blow your hair back!  That’s what it’ll do all right…

‘Even while God is working wonders through his specially chosen leaders, there are many Israelites who continue to be attracted by pagan idols and practices.  What follows is an account of one such Israelite who compromises and perverts true worship, and even manages to persuade a Levite (this is the tribe of priests) to participate.  Perhaps the greater significance of the account lies inthe fact that one man’s sins eventually leads to the practice of pagan idolatry by an ENTIRE TRIBE.  The power of individual influence shouts aloud in this seemingly well-motivated and innocent deviation from God’s directed pattern.’  Read Judges 17-18 for more insight. 

‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’  This verse sums up Judges for me.  When we have no law, no king, no Plum Line of Right & Wrong, No Moral Standard, we live as though what we ‘think / feel’ is right is right.  We need Help.  We need Direction.  We need Rules.  I think too many parents end up screwing their kids up because they don’t give them any rules / regulations growing up.  Or maybe they do give them rules / regulations / consequences but they are not Consistent in their Discipline!  This is Brutal.  Be Consistent.  Israel was never consistent in their worship of God.  And for this the nation suffered.  Nor have we been consistent in our worship of God.  And for this we suffer.   God has given us His Standard.  Do you know it?

Men CRACK me up…. it sure does seem like all of my ‘breed’ think the same!  In the Song of Solomon study that we are doing on Wednesday nights, the pastor says that if girls wanna ‘win’ an argument, all they have to do is cry.  Men don’t know what to do with a crying woman.  But we will sure try sometimes, won’t we?

1 Samuel 1 starts off with a woman named Hannah crying because another lady has kids and she does not.  So how does her husband respond to her?  ‘Hannah, why are you weeping?  Why don’t you eat something?  Why are you downhearted?  Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?’  This is my interpretation of this passage…So I go home after work and Taylor is crying about us not having kids and my response to her would be:  Why you cryin’ girl?  You got any food in yo’ belly?  Don’t look so grim?  Babe, YOU GOT ME!  I am thinking that Hannah and her husband could not have been married THAT long because even after only being married 3 months, I know better….most of the time!  Surely Elkanah (Hannah’s husband) would have learned this by now.  This is not the right way to respond, men……..but oh so often it is!

Club on Monday was great.  Skippy the Amazing Wonder Fish zip lined from the top of Texas Boat World down a fishing line into a bucket of water!  He is one Stellar Tilapia!!!  Dan gave the Club talk and spoke about our sin and need.  It really doesn’t take much for one to look around and recognize that ‘something just isn’t right’ right now.  Our actions have consequences.  Our consequence for our sin nature is death.  Death without Jesus. 

And then Campaigners last night was Part 2 of the Art of Conflict.  Oh Boy!  Conflict… Tommy gave us the 17 things you should never do in Conflict.  I forgot the list, but will post it really soon.  These are great reminders.

I think that is all for now.  Thanks for reading once again.  There were like 27 views on this site on Tuesday.  Thanks for visiting…

Crazy Busy Day…

Have you watched the THAT’S MY KING video yet?   If not, you GOTTA scroll down two blogs and watch this video…it’ll Blow Your Hair Back!

There is SO MUCH going on right now.  I have been on the phone a ton today…pastors, parents, texting kids, Taylor is in Houston for the day figuring out Bride’s Maids dress stuff, Lunch Bible Studies, Ellison High School, Man Night tonight at Buffalo Wild Wings, old friends in town…  LOTS of STUFF!

Please know this day that although Christ is ALIVE … hence the holiday of Easter, so is His Adversary / Enemy!  We are in a Battle.  A Serious Battle!  A Spiritual Battle!  A Battle for the Heart & Soul of You!  A Battle for the Heart & Soul of Me!  A Battle for the Hearts & Souls of Our Children.  And A Battle for the Hearts & Souls of Nation / World!

Please pray for this time.  There are serious issues going on.  With you.  With me.  With our world.  Christ has come to set us Free!  The problem is that according to Romans 1, we have ‘exchanged the Truth of God for a lie’ and He has ‘given us over to the desires of our flesh.’  Satan is preying on our Flesh. 

May we know this Truth this day.  May we lay prostrate before our Savior and plea on behalf of you, me, our Children and our Nation that we would Turn To Him, Know Him, Desire Him & Long For Him. 

He is Our Hope.  Our Only Hope…

On the web…

How about it?  This is my second post for the day!  I am officially a nerd…

Anywho, I wanted to let you know my sermon is at this website www.begrace.org.  Click on Media.  You will see my name (johnny russell) and the sermon to follow.  Enjoy.  Let me know whatcha think.  I sure do enjoy doing this.

Make today count!

Is what you’re living for, worth dying for?

Longing to sit at His feet…

Do you ever get that feeling?  You know, that feeling like you are missing something in your day, week, month, year, life…

I have that feeling right now.  My longing is to sit at His feet and have Him speak to me, encourage me, love me and direct me.  Does God still speak?  Do you ‘hear’ Him?  Are you doing what He desires you to do today?  A lot of people think God is dead.  And then a lot of people think God is not necessarily dead, but that He is not engaging us / involved in our lives. 

We read books.  Lots of books.  Magazines.  Blogs.  Commentaries.  And then there is television.  These are all great things.  Most of the time.  But are we sitting before the feet of our Savior?  When was the last time you (yes, I am actually speaking to you….the reader of this blog — YOU!) sat, layed, fell prostrate before Jesus and He ‘spoke’ to you?  I know that you probably read the Bible every now and again, but when did you sit before Him with no agenda and listen?  ’They’ say communication is a 2 way street… I would say that ‘the other way’ is lacking in our prayer life!  At least it is in mine.  I am great at speaking TO Him.  I am horrible at allowing Him to ‘speak’ to me.  Why is that?  Why don’t I sit before His feet on a daily basis?  Idiot!  That’s why.

So there it is.  That is where my heart is today.  Where is yours?  Did you know that God (the God of the Universe!, Creator, Father, Maker, Judge, Ruler, All-Knowing, and on and on for all eternity) desires for us to engage Him?  Listen to Him?  Love Him?  Serve Him?  He does.  He desires you … to do these things.  He desires me … to do these things.  Can you believe that?  How incredible is that?  That is MY God!  Do you know Him?  Please check out this link and view this video… http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=details&tab=MM&id=28.

Are you fired up or what?  Do You Know Him?!?!  THAT God desires US to know Him more.  So join me in sitting before our Savior today.  We Need Him.  We Long for Him.  And we may not even know it.  That longing in your soul.  That itching in your chest.  It won’t go away.  You can’t find anything to cure it.  That’s because we are not sitting before Him.  Listening.  Waiting.  Yearning.  Longing for Him to ’speak’ to us!  Do You Know Him?  He’s Indescribable…

On another note, Taylor and I went to Corinth (Dallas area) this weekend for Easter.  Taylor and I had not made it ’up’ to see my parents / family since our wedding 3 months ago.  It was great to be home.  I sure am blessed to have a great home life.  Loving Parents.  Big Brothers that Bully Me.  And now…Christ that lives in each of us.  Such a blessing.  Taylor and I made it to the 7 p.m. Good Friday service at Denton Bible Church and it was really educating.  I love to learn about the Old Testament.  Tommy Nelson, the pastor, spoke on Leviticus 16 – The Day of Atonement.  He is one wise dude.  He was speaking about how Moses would go into the Tabernacle (the Holy of Holies) to make Atonement for his country (Israel) and himself to God once a year.  Well, Moses would sacrifice at goat for the people and a bull for himself.  Ok.  So what?  A goat is an animal that follows.  Goats are not ‘leaders.’  Hence, Moses made a goat sacrifice to God for the people of Israel because they were followers.  On the other hand, a bull does not follow.  A bull leads!  And so Moses sacrificed a bull for himself because he was the leader of Israel (well, God was / is really, but he is the earthly leader).  I had never heard this.  I like it.  I love it.  I want some more of it.  Now, if you are beginning to sing the country song, you listen to country music too much!  Is that possible?

I am trying to understand how to put pics on this blog.  I can upload a full-size pic, but not a thumbnail yet.  Give it time, Mav, give it time.  Thanks for the encouragement.  A full-size pic is just too big.  We don’t want that.

Please pray for Young Life Club tonight at 7:59 CST.  Dan is giving the Club Talk around our sin / need of a Savior.  We are Helpless, but not Hopeless!  I am revealing the cut camp cost tonight… We charge $499 for 9 days at a Premier Young Life Camping Facility, but for 1 month only, we are charging $298.50 (that’s HALF OFF!).  We are trying to get the ball rolling and kids to get on board with Sharptop Cove.  If kids start to sign up, I will be sending you a letter to help get them there.  See you at your mailbox.

We need Jesus.  Kids need Jesus.  In a Bad Way. 

Because High School Kids Are Worth It…   

The ‘Pulp Fiction’ of the Bible…

In the words of George Castanza, ‘I’m BACK, BABY, George is BACK!’  It is great to be back in the saddle and bloggin’ with the best of’em…

My adventures down in Corpus Christi were simply incredible!  For 1 month I have been planning this trip with these 3 guys.  Every day I would ask them, ‘are we still good to go?  Do I need to talk to your parents or anything in regards to our trip South?’  The answers were always the same, ‘yes and no.’  Yes they were good to go and no they did not need me to speak to their parents…except for one.  So on Thursday night, the night before we are gonna leave, I get a text message (such a horrible way to communicate important information, you know?) from one of the guys saying that he just told his mom (after knowing about this trip for a month, he is just telling his mom the night before, ugh!) and she says that he cannot go.  5 minutes later, I get another text from another guy and he says, ‘if what’s his face ain’t going, then he doesn’t want to go and leave his boy alone during Spring Break.’  10 minutes later….you know what is coming!  The last guy does the exact same thing!  He bales on me because his friends are not going now!  I was pretty livid, to say the least, that night.  I could hardly sleep.  Lots of praying.  Friday morning was interesting… I gave the boys till 10 a.m. to let me know.  They all said that they were still out.  And so I moved on.  I called 1 guy and he immediately said that he was in!  Even if it was just me and him going?  He said, ‘Oh, Heck yeah!’  Corpus Christi?  Who wouldn’t want to go there?  Well, I can give you the names of 3 guys!  10 minutes after that guy was in, I get a text from 2 of the ‘old guys’ saying they are BACK IN!  Incredible!  So it ended up being 2 of the old guys and 1 new guy.  Great Time…  Sun, Sand, Fish, Food, Friends, Putt-Putt, Boogie Boards, Skim Boards, Injuries, Paint Ball, X-Box 360, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, More Food, More Fun, Deeper Relationships!  ‘Love People to LIFE!’

OK, during all of this frustration, I am still reading in the Daily Bible.  My Pastor calls the Book of Judges the Pulp Fiction of the Bible!  Do you remember that movie Pulp Fiction?  Pretty crazy movie.  Produced by Quinton Tarantino.  Weird Cat.  Very Creative.  Anyhow, I thought that I would share with you some of this Hollywood style drama that is taking place…

Judges 3:15-25, ‘Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing.  He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.  After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it.  At the idols near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” 
The king said, “Quiet!” And all his attendants left him.  Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly.  Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it.  Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.  After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.”  They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.’

Is this crazy or WHAT?  Insane!  I was amazed and baffled.  So Incredible…  But wait, there’s more.

Judges 4:17, 11, 18-22.  To give you some background, Barak and Deborah are pursuing Sisera to kill him to take claim of his land that the Lord had given to Barak and Deborah.  Sisera is on the run and the story picks up here… ‘Sisera, however, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there were friendly relations between Jabin king of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite.  Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.  Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my Lord , come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she put a covering over him.  “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.  Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say ‘No.’  But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted.  She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.  Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple-dead.’

An 18 inch sword into the belly of a fat king!  A tent peg hammered into the temple of a man who had 900 iron chariots…by a woman!

God now calls Gideon as His point person…Gideon is hesitant, as was Moses.  God proves to him by use of a fleece.  Judges 6:36-40.  Check out that passage. 

Then God tells Gideon, ‘You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into your hands.  In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’  So 22,000 men left…while 10,000 remained!  2/3 of the Army trembled in fear and so they left!  Seriously?  And God says that 10,000 is still too many!  Gideon takes these 10,000 men down to the water to drink and the ones that ‘lap the water with the tongues like a dog’ rather than those who kneel down to drink are the ones that will fight!  The number?  300!  Oh My Stars!  So God has widdled Gideon’s Army down from 22,000 men to 300!  Totally Insane…  Well, Gideon wins.  With God on his side, anything is possible now.

Lots of death.  Lots of deceit.  Lots of killing.  Lots of children, sex, prostitutes, concubines, women.  And lastly…

There was the really bad man named Abimelech who killed his 70 BROTHERS just so he could be ruler.  He is gonna try to take captive this tower and everyone in it, but everyone had locked themselves in the tower and  climbed to the top.  Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it.  But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull!  When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead…the went home!

So there you have it.  This is quite a lot, I know.  Thanks for reading and making it to the end. 

This is a GOOD FRIDAY!  EASTER IS COMIN’ SOON! 

You’re the Pastor, you tell me…

We had another great Campaigners (small group Bible Study for YL) last night.  God never ceases to amaze me.  I am constantly amazed at how He works and the ‘doors’ that He opens.

Last week we had a new guy come with a girl who had been consistent for the past month.  Randomly enough, I met this girls mom at a plumbing shop as I was talking to the owner about Campaigners and the Song of Solomon study that we are doing.  She (the mom) and her friend were curious and so they began asking questions.  The next week, their two kids showed up (1 guy, 1 girl).  That’s a little background for ya.  So, this dude comes last week for the first time.  He is dressed in all black.  He is wearing a ‘hoodie’ a.k.a a sweatshirt with a hood.  He has the hood pulled over his head the entire evening.  Hat down low.  Very little eye contact.  He did not say many words last week.  He appeared very interested, but unengaged.  I invited him to camp and that really peaked his interest.  He said that camp was right before his 21st (that’s right, TWENTY FIRST!) birthday.  WoWsers!  20-years-old at a ‘high school’ bible study.  He asked if he could still go.  I asked if he was still in high school and he was.  He is a senior at the Alternative School in Killeen.  SWEET!  Start praying now…

So this girl and this guy show up last night and he looks completely different from last week.  No hat.  No hood.  Long hair in a pony tail.  Glasses.  He looked a lot less ‘scary’ than last week.  The time is 8:05 and we are waiting for another girl to show up who comes every week.  I give a prelude to the nights video about the Art of Conflict.  I randomly ask this guy how he ‘fights’ (as in an argument / disagreement) whether it is to Win or whether it is to Resolve.  He begins to give this long answer and he is talking more than I had ever imagined this guy talking in his life!  The ‘walls’ have come down for some reason… He tells me (us) that he is a good person and very moral.  He talks about Love and how important it is in Life.  Then he says to me, ‘If you were to ask me if I was to die tonight whether I would go to heaven or not, I would definitely say Yes.’  I thought to myself, I know what’s coming next…’because I have accepted Christ.  I have been saved!’  But I was wrong.  He says, ‘I know that I am going to heaven because I have been a good person, I have good values and morals and God just wants us to do the best we can.’  At this point I am praying for an opportunity to speak without stepping over my boundaries since I barely know this manchild.  As he is still looking at me, he says, ‘So that’s what I think, that’s how I feel.  But you’re the Pastor, you tell me!‘  Praise the Lord!  Are you kidding me?  This could not have been any more perfect! 

I said, ‘well, your opinion is not what the Bible teaches, but is a very common belief among many, many people.  One in fact, I used to believe.’  He now wants to know more, more, more.  He is Thirsty!  You could see it in his eyes!  I proceeded to tell him exactly what I talked about at Club on Monday (see that Post for more insight) and how none of us are good enough to get into Heaven by ourselves.  The one question I have for folks like him that believe that good people get into Heaven is When Is Good, Good Enough?  How do you know that you have been Good Enough?  I asked him that and he said that he ‘just knew.’  ‘Will all people go to Heaven,’ I asked.  He said Yes.  Then he brings up Hitler.  He thought that Hitler was an evil, selfish man, but he probably deserved Heaven.  I shared Ephesians 2:8-9 with him which says, ‘For it is by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH, not by WORKS so that no man can boast!’  If we could get into Heaven on our own, then there would be no need for Jesus Christ.  He was beginning to see the flaw in his thinking.  It was an incredible process!  He wanted to know also about the Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus, Atheists and all the others that don’t believe the Christian View.  My only question for him was, ‘did they know Jesus?’  Jesus claims to be THE Way, THE Truth, THE Life in John 14.  THE is a very important word here.  The word is THE, not A!  Jesus is THE Way, NOT A Way!  All roads do not lead to Heaven……against popular belief.  His mind was melting at this point.  You could see the Revelation in his eyes.  I talked about Christ being our perfect sacrifice, Adam and Eve, the Cross, Love being a CHOICE which he said was just an EMOTION and Ezekiel 36:26.

We decided to watch the video and by now it was 8:30 or so.  The video was great.  The Art of Conflict.  4 Principles for you:  Don’t React To Your Mate; Respond To God, Let God Do The Chastening; Resolution; and Communicate!  Great conversation and once again this guy was ‘talking up a storm.’  It was crazy!  Really Cool, but 1,800 degree difference from last week.  Bizarre! 

We ended the evening and kids were trickling out.  These two (well, her) are generally the last kids to leave because her mom is usually late.  So we (the girl, guy and me) are standing in the kitchen and he tells me, ‘hey man, I really like talking to you, but can we go outside so that I can have a smoke?  Do you mind?’  ‘Not at all,’ I responded!  So we went outside and spoke more about Jesus and the two of them ‘enjoyed’ a cigarette together.  Thank You Jesus for being present …

Lil’ Club info…

Howdy!  Welcome back to myself since I did not write yesterday.  Thank You.  Thank You.

I wanted to give you an update on Young Life Club on Monday.  Club numbers are dwindling like crazy.  Kids sure are funny creatures.  Aren’t we all?  Whether we have 2 kids or 42 kids on Mondays, we run club like we have 2,319 kids!  It sure makes the ones that come feel very special.  Kids are special!

Great songs by Chris and a funny skit and game by Dustin.  Dustin is a big, thick boy!  He plays football (starting Center) at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor.  He bench presses 425 pounds.  That’s for real!  He walked out dressed up as a Young Life personal trainer named Bill, ‘The Thrill!’  Very funny.  Head band.  Athletic shorts.  Weight in left hand to ‘balance him out.’  Anyhow, the first step in YL Personal Fitness is nutrition and so we took 6 volunteers (3 girls, 3 guys) to join us at the front.  This was called the Blender Gender Challenge!  We blended up 3 different types of Happy Meals from McD’s….all of it!  Hamburger (chesseburger or nuggets), fries, drink, ketchup and BBQ sauce.  Turn on the blender and let it do its work!  Hmmmmmm…yummy!  The guys won 2 to 1.  No one heaved or threw up.  Now you may sigh…….

I gave the Club Talk and spoke about Moses since that is where I am reading these days and what I am learning about.  Each semester, we do basically the same Club Talk outline which looks similar to this:  Who is God, Who is Jesus, Person of Christ, Sin / Need, Cross, Redemption and Life with Christ!  We will do a couple of each one.  Same topic, different speakers and different stories and such.

So, I talked about my friend Moses.  Who he is, what he’s done, who he talked with and all that good stuff.  685 years prior, God had made a Covenant with Abraham that God would give his people the Promised Land known as Canaan.  Well, Moses is a descendant of Moses, from the tribe of Levi (the book of Leviticus is named after the tribe) and so that Promise is still good for them because it has yet to be fulfilled.  Moses has done a whole bunch of great things for the Lord,  really ‘Good Works!’  But in Numbers 20:8-12, we see something transpire that is gonna cost Moses dearly!  The Israelite people are complaining to Moses about how unhappy they are (gripe, gripe, gripe!) and so God has a plan to provide these stiff-necked people with some water.  In verse 8, God tells Moses to ‘Take the staff and speak to the rock before their eyes and it will pour out water.’  Moses gathers the people and in verse 11, it says, ‘Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff.  Water gushed out and the community and their livestock drank.

Did you catch it?  I sure hope so, I italicized it!  God told Moses to SPEAK to the rock and instead, Moses STRIKES the rock…twice.  What would you call this?  One kid yelled out, ‘Disobedience!’  Exactly… is how I responded!  Disobedience.  And because of this Disobedience, God tells Moses this in verse 12, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’  Even in Moses’ disobedience, the Lord still provided blessing to his people!  So you are telling me because of Moses’ disobedience, God is NOT allowing him to enter into the Promised Land?  That is exactly what I am telling you!  Seems harsh, huh?  Well, I believe that Canaan (the Promised Land) is a type (picture, model, foreshadow of what’s to come) of heaven.  And because of our Disobedience, God does not allow us into heaven (Canaan).  James 2:10 says, ‘For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking ALL OF IT!’  WoWsers…  Moses did a lot of Great Things.  A lot of ‘Good Works.’  But because of his Disobedience, he was not good enough.  Good Works DO NOT get us into Heaven.  Should we do Good Works?  YES!  But Good Works DO NOT save us.  Perfection is demanded of anyone entering the Promised Land.  And so this is how I left our high school friends.  I told them that we (them, me, you, all of us) are like Moses and because of our Disobedience we would not be able to enter into Heaven.  But…….Although we are Helpless, we are not HOPELESS!  There is more to come.  There is more to the story!

I love to challenge kids / people to think!  Really Think!  You know, the kind that makes your hair melt to your head.  As kids layed down in bed that night, I hope that they were thinking about the Club Talk, Moses, Canaan, Disobedience and Helpless vs. Hopeless!  I hope you will do the same.

Random tidbits:  I heard this fun quote the other day…God tells us, ‘You catch’em, I’ll clean’em!’  I thought that was cool.

My sermon from Grace Bible Church is available for me to email to you if you would like.  If so, hit me with a comment on this post, call me or text me and I will send you the link.  We even took a video of it!  How about that?

So, there you have it.  I am heading up to the high school to tell kids that They Matter!  I am getting pumped because I am taking 3 high schools guys out of town for a few days during Spring Break!  They have NO idea what they are in for.  Wild At Heart!!!

Campaigners tonight is on the Art of CONFLICT!  This is gettin’ gooooooooood… 

So when are you having kids…

After just a mere 3 months (almost) of being married, ‘people’ are asking the ridiculous question, ‘So when are you having kids?’  Are they serious?  What in the world?  People sure are funny when it comes to this kind of stuff…

Welp, here is the answer…in print…for all the world to see (if they even care!).  *Taylor and I plan to wait at least 3-5 years before we have kids (*denotes the Russell’s plans, not necessarily the Plans of our Father!).  Our desire is to really get to know each other really good because we know that if a child comes in to this world, the tendency will be for him (it’ll be a boy….I have promised my dad) to be our focus.  Does that make sense?  I need to know Taylor more before we bring a lil’ Russell into this world.

 But……we have LOTS of kids!  Friday night, Taylor had 3 high school girls over to the house to make cookies and spend the night.  I ventured off to the Ellison HS soccer game for a first half BEATING (5-0 at half, Belton!) and then went to see Vantage Point, the movie, by myself.  Yes, by myself.  I love going to the movies by myself!  Anyhow, Taylor had girls over to make cookies and such and when I came home to the ‘girls’ they were yelling, ‘Dad’s Home!  Dad’s Home!’  No, for real!  They were really yelling that.  They told Taylor that we should think about adopting them.  I mean, can you imagine?  I cannot tell you how excited I was when I got home.  Here in our home, my wife is loving high school girls (where they are; in the current state that they are in; with reckless abandonment!) so much that they want us to adopt them!  Ministry as a Team has begun… My heart was so overjoyed it was unbelievable.  These girls LOVE Taylor.  I am thankful that we have unlimited text messaging because we would be in the hole (debt) if we did not.  Lots of texts.  These girls love Taylor because she is available to them.  She listens to them.  She laughs with them.  She cries with them.  She shares her life with them.  She tells them about Forgiveness.  She tells them about Grace.  She tells them about her past.  She tells them about a God who Loves them Right where they are at, today!  No Matter What! 

Why would you not want to be around someone like that?  They are contagious!  We all long to be around someone like that and even be like that ourselves.  Are you available to those that need you?  Family?  Friends?  Co-Workers?  The world pulls us in 1,538 different directions every second, every day.  Which way will you be pulled?  Who will you listen to?  Will you be disciplined enough to not speak and just listen?  Will you pray for them?

A guy called me to go to lunch with him today.  On his dashboard of his vehicle, he has 3 pictures.  One for each of his girls.  Each one is from a different woman.  The life he used to lead is in the past.  Christ has given him a second chance.  He has left women, weed, ecstasy, alcohol, gambling and the things of the world in the past, bobbing in the wake of his flesh.  He desires Christ now.  He desires Life now.  A 41 year old man calling me to have lunch with him so I can share with him about how to love a lost world and a lost family.  Right where they are.  In the Current State that they are in.  With Reckless Abandonment!  All of our pasts are checkered with something or other.  Something we are not proud of.  Things we have done.  Things we don’t want to talk about.  He is getting Baptized on Thursday morning in a creek.  Brrrrrrr….  At age 41.  He is beginning the Life that Jesus has always called him to.  He is beginning the ministry that he was made for.  He is ‘Loving People To Life!’

Are you there yet?  What is holding you back?  My friend is 41.  Moses was 80.  I was 20.  Jesus is in the Business of Changing Lives!  Has your life been changed?

‘The Son of Man (Jesus) came to seek and to save what was lost’… that’s you and me!

A friend of mine asked me today how many folks visited this blog each day and I did not have any idea.  Am I expecting anyone to?  Maybe.  I don’t know.  So I snooped around and found out.  About 15 or so.  Some days it’s 36.  Other days it’s 8.  Not sure what spurs someone on to look one day and not the next.  But regardless, whoever  is ‘out there’ I hope that you are being blessed and challenged to think deeper and about others rather than yourselves.  Have you thought about Him lately?  Do you know Jesus?  Not, Do you know about Him, but do you KNOW Him?  He loves YOU … Right where you are.  In the Current State that you are in.  With Reckless Abandonment!

It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  Well, it is True.  And as John 8:32 says, ‘You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you Free!’

Are you looking for a Fight?

This morning as we gathered like we do every Friday morning at the Diederich’s house at 7, I could feel myself getting frustrated…

I pick up 3 high school guys every Friday morning for Pancakes and Prayer (basically a small group Bible study) and others meet us there.  What in the world is up with that (frustration)?  Do you get frustrated?  Do you get angry?  Is it expected?

 We watched a video called STORE produced by Rob Bell and a organization called NOOMA (www.nooma.com) and it touched on this subject.  Rob Bell said that he was driving the other day and some dude gave him the Double Guns (that means that the guy gave Rob the ‘finger’ with both of his hands!) because he was driving too slow.  When the guy passed Rob, he didn’t even look at Rob.  Anger.  It seems to be very present in many of us.  Is it in you?  Forget Gatorade, what about Angerade?  Wow, that was cheeeeesy!

Rob Bells believes that there is this low grade boil that is in our Society and it does not take much to set some of us OFF!  Are you relating yet?  I know you have seen it.  The guy on the road, the lady at the Grocery Store, the couple at the restaurant whose food is not perfect!  They are all over the place.  The couple is mad because their food is not perfect yet there are millions of people that will not even eat today!  Low Grade Boil.  Can you sense it?

Rob (do you like how we are on a first name basis?) makes a comment near the end about people ‘lookin for a fight because they are not in one.’  Are you in a Fight?  Not a Fight fight, but a Battle?  Do you sense the Battle that is taking place all around us for the souls of you and me and them?  We ARE in a Battle.  We ARE in a Fight!  It is real.  The world does not want us to believe that.  And satan definitely does not want us to believe that there is a battle going on!  And when he convinces us of that, he has victory over you and me.  Ready?  Fight! 

Jesus got Angry.  He was often angry at the religious folks of his day.  When Jesus got angry in this scenario, he healed a man with a crippled hand.  Despite what the Sadducees had to say, Jesus channeled his anger toward something that was good.  When we are angry, how to we respond?  Do we give the ‘Double Guns?’  Quite frankly, it is kind of fun to do that!  Appropriate?  Not at ALL!  Fun?  Kind of…  Can I say that?  I think so.  The high school guys this morning spoke about how they ‘channel’ their anger… punching walls, screaming at their parents, hitting their siblings.  Low Grade Boil.  These are High Schoolers! 

Ever seen a 2 year old throw a Temper Tantrum?  Where does THAT come from?  Deep, way down deeeeeeeeeep.  It is CrAzY!

Anywho, there it is.  What are you doing with this Low Grade Boil in your life?  What about your kids?  Sadly enough, our kids’ behaviors are modeled directly after ours.  May we channel our anger to something good.  Pray.  Give it a try. 

Have a great weekend.  I will not be writing for the next two days.  Ponder what has been written this week and you give me some wisdom in a ‘comment.’

Is what you are living for worth dying for?