Stand & Fight Your Giant

I love reading scripture. Now admittedly, I'm not a traditional reader in that I love to read. Yet the Bible is another story. Last Saturday I preached a message entitled "Stand & Face Your Giant" at a youth concert. The sermon was about David's encounter with Goliath.

God gave me this particular message after re-reading this classic Bible story during my devotions. Interestingly enough was the fact that in the past I had overlooked one critical detail about this story. This detail is found in 1 Samuel 17:16. In this verse God reveals that for 40 days Goliath challenged Saul and the army of Israel to fight him. More directly Goliath "punk'd the people of God" for more than a month.

As I began to pray and ponder this, the Lord spoke to me and said that this generation is being punk'd just like Saul and the Israelite army had been. Week after week  as I travel I hear story after story of how believers are being punk'd by depression, pornography, regret, poverty, peer pressure, and so much more. I felt like the Lord said "It's time for someone to stand and fight the giant!" As I thought about this I examined His words more closely. He didn't say "face the giant" at all. He said it's time to fight the giant! I couldn't agree more!!!

Thank God for people like David who wouldn't let fear or even the thought of being thrashed stop him. This generation needs to learn this lesson from David...these battles aren't ours they're the Lord's! Read 1 Samuel 17:46.

David was a brave guy! He merely heard Goliath barking about his physical strength and felt compelled to respond. I want to be like that! Not just for myself, but also for my family...my wife and kids. I want to demonstrate that to the students I serve and the community of faith I'm in.

So with all this said, are you simply facing your giant(s) or are your ready to fight them? Saul, the leader of God's hand-pick nation wasn't. The army of Israel wasn't. Perhaps your family isn't. Maybe your church isn't.

Whatever the case, I'd like like to leave you with the three points of the message to ponder:

(1)  Sooner or later we all will face a giant. It may be our health, finances, relationship, or whatever...but we'll face them.

(2)  When the giant(s) appear you'll either flee from them or fight them. It's the notion of "fight or flight!" If you run, you'll eventually become a runner (if you know what I mean).

(3)  Usually when you stand and fight them, they fall! One of the devil's oldest trick is that of intimidation. The least you can do is face him and demonstrate to him you're standing your ground.

I pray that this blog challenges you to go beyond "facing your giant(s) to actually fighting them with the Lord's help!

Be blessed!

I Love What I Do!

Yep, it's been a few days since my last post. I've been very busy as you might imagine...10 days, three states, some 1260 miles driven, and nearly 800 students and adults ministered to. Wow! God is good!!!

Three years ago when the Lord gave me the go-ahead with the "evangelism thing" I didn't see all this. All the churches, students, venues, and messages. It's a blast doing what I do...I love what I do!!!

I was recently asked what I love the most about ministering. A bit perplexed by the question, I honestly had to process through my response because there are so many positives. Seeing students draw closer to the Lord and allow Him to challenge them is exciting! Just seeing them connect with the Lord at deeper levels, making them vulnerable to God is what gets me going. I want them to connect everyday experiences to the things of God...it's all practical!

Often times I get emails or Facebook messages of how God used Cornell Jordan Ministries (CJM) to touch the heart of particular students. I believes they do in fact want an authentic, relevant, and challenging relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet, at the same time they don't want the same ol' same ol'.

So with all this said, are you loving what you're currently doing? Are you purposefully impacting this generation for the glory of the Lord? Or are you stuck, in the process of getting there? Whatever the case, never be satisfied with where you are or what you've achieved. God has called all of us to continually make an impact on this generation. Doing so can only be done with the Lord's help and favor upon our lives.

Like A Rock Quarry

The other day Kristin, Christopher and I spent the Saturday before Labor Day at my sister's house in Warren, OH. The most direct route to her house from ours is to take St. Rt. 5. Now in truth there's nothing special about this stretch of road. Yet, every time I take it God reminds me of  something.

You see, every time I take Route 5 I can't help but see and recall the huge rock quarry company along the way. I say this because if you've ever driven pass a quarry, you probably notice that they always seem to have great landscaping on the outskirts of the quarry itself. Thinking about this a little further got me to see the spiritual metaphor that was initially hidden.

The way I see it is that many people live their lives like that of a rock quarry. What I mean is this. Although rock quarries have great landscaping and nicely manicured shrubbery, on the inside there's destruction going on! The outside looks picturesque, but oh the inside! What a reversal!

More directly we constantly ask people "How are you doing" and the answer is usually in the affirmative. Yet, for many that's just not the case. They're really dealing with stuff and can't bring themselves to express the truth. On the other hand though, we do the same. Why is this the case?

I once heard Pastor Tony Evans say, "It's okay not to be fine!" His point I believe was to live our lives in complete transparency before others, especially to our brothers and sisters in faith. So what can we take from this?

I think there are a few things that comes to mind for me.  Hopefully they are beneficial to you. The takeaways I have are:

(1)  It is in fact okay to "not be fine" sometimes. Experiencing difficulties, confusing, setbacks, and frustration is a part of the human experience. Just be sure to not allow yourself to stay in the place of being "not fine!"

(2)  Try to be transparent with people. The way I see it is that when I don't respond in truth I'm robbing others of the opportunity (and blessing) of praying for me and walking through it with me.

(3)  When we are told by someone that they aren't doing fine we have to respond immediately. The door was opened for ministry and genuine care so walk through it before it closes.

And lastly,

(4)  Know that you are fulfilling "The Law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). What is this law? It's loving your neighbor as you love yourself (Galatians 5:14).

So the the next time you pass a rock quarry see it as a reminder to share your prayer requests and needs. Let the "inner explosions" come to and end! Allow others to move out all the rubble and hard things in your life! Be blessed.

As many of you know, I travel on a weekly basis as an evangelist all over the country. I love sharing the Word of God and making it relevant and practical for people to grasp. For me, there's nothing greater than seeing students and adults get it when it comes to understanding the will of the Lord.

Those who have heard me or any other evangelist for that matter fail to realize the incredible struggle it is to hear from the Lord on such a consistent basis. For example, between this week and next week I have to speak some 14 times! Wow!

So how in the world can one individual hear from the Lord that much to satisfy the demand of requested ministry? Well for me, it has now become an enjoyable task. Here's what I do when preparing for ministry opportunities:

(1)  I train myself to see God through and in all things. Yep, I can develop a sermon from almost anything!

(2)  I read the Word of God and try to interpret it through the lenses of our culture. In other words, I ask myself, "How would this look today?"

(3)  I ask the Lord to give me an illustration, metaphor, or story that brings the truth of God's Word to life. Early in my ministry, I had the pleasure of hearing a chaplain for the New York Yankees speak. The way he handled the scriptures and brought the them alive amazed me. From that point forward I wanted to do the same to those the Lord put in my path.

(4)  I work really hard on the packaging! For me, the packaging of a message is critically important. Packaging is not only what I preach, but how I preach it.  Different groups may require a different approach. The same can be said for the various age groups I encounter. Presentation is also huge. What graphics, props, or illustrations will be used. All of this is essential to delivering an effective message to God's people.

(5)  I try to make it practical. I think most people know the "what" of God, faith, and life. Yet, few grasp and master the "how" of God, faith, and life. I want to present solutions and not simply regurgitate all the problems.

With this said, I challenge you to look and listen beyond the surface of the messages and sermons you hear. Take a step back and examine how they are presented...dare I say try to see the packaging. A great sermon doesn't necessarily have to be one that makes you run to the altar. On the contrary, I believe the best sermons are those that are well structured, thought-provoking, and practical. What do you think? What sermon or sermons do you still remember and why?

Family, Food, Fun, & Faith

Yesterday Kristin and I spent some time at my oldest sister's house. We went there because my sister Jean's house was the meeting place for a family picnic. We couldn't wait to see, talk, and mess around with my brothers and sisters! The Jordan's are too much when we all get together. In addition to seeing them, several of our childhood friends would also be attending the picnic. It was sure to be an awesome time!

Now I need for you to know, not all my brothers and sisters are serving the Lord. Many of them know about the Lord because we were all raised in the church. Yet, somewhere along the way they lost their relationship with Him. Knowing this, Kristin and I try to attend these get-togethers with an open mind and a prayerful heart. We pray for them constantly and believe that some day they all will return to the Lord.

With that said, I want to give you some practical steps you can take when getting together with your unsaved relatives. Now these suggestions aren't exhaustive, but some simple steps you can try:

(1)  Pray in advance of your get together. Ask the Lord for some specific things to see and experience while at the get-together. When you see any of your prayers being answered be sure to share it with someone there.

(2)  Don't nag them when they do what sinners do! This is critical because most of them know that their lives and behavior is not where it should/could be nor is it expressive of a true life and knowledge of Christ.

(3)  Be willing to lead. I say the prayer for the meals made at nearly every get-together. Thus, my siblings have recognized that God has and is doing something in my life. I also help everywhere I can (taking out the trash, making runs to the store, or whatever). I believe by doing this, my brothers and sisters see Christ in me as opposed to hearing about Christ from me.

(4)  Let them know that you are always praying for them. I love the fact that my siblings know that Kristin and I are praying for them. As a result, they email or call us with their prayer requests and the things they're faced with. When that happens we can then minister to them by sharing with them how a real relationship with Jesus Christ can make things dramatically different.

I know many of you are saddened at the fact that those you love don't have a true relationship with Christ. Take heart and know that God wants them found in Him more than we ever could imagine or desire. His will is that all be saved!

Be blessed and keep it practical!

A Lot to Say

If you know me, you know I have a lot to say! A few years back a great friend of mine told me to give this blog thing a shot and for some reason I couldn't and therefore didn't. So, in an effort to grow and be sharpened, here I go...

One of the unexpected benefits of travelling as an evangelist is that of see what I call "The Good, the bad, & the ugly" when it comes to churches. I want to be a voice for those who want to know the pulse of today's church. Most of the time we get a "soldier's view" of the church. You know those in the trenches, but it's also good and wise to hear other perspectives. So, to make this practical be sure to chat with those friends of yours that have the honor of blessing God's wonder church. Peace.