warranty

almost all products come with some type of warranty.  it is the basic promise from the manufacturer to guarantee that it will work for 30, 60, 90 days or even years.  You can also buy an extended warranty on anything from a new macbook to a toaster - this ensures that after the original warranty runs out you have coverage for another year or two.

yesterday I had to call  at&t because my motorola cell phone was not working.  i was ecstatic to find out that i had called on the exact day when my warranty expired and they would send me a new phone within 3 days.  the customer service dude said, “you’re lucky you called today, tomorrow you would have been on your own”.

this got me thinking… i’m so grateful that i have a manufacturer that has not only given me a lifetime warranty, but an unconditional eternal warranty.  this brings massive confidence to me, that when i’m broken or damaged or out of alignment in some area of my life - God’s guarantee is always there to repair me, restore me, fix me.  many warranties are void if you accidentally damage the product (by abuse or some other factor).  with God, even when we damage our lives by making foolish decisions or even purposefully rebel against Him - His warranty is still valid.  

genesis 1:31 (nlb) says, “God saw all that He had made and it was very good.”  God created you perfectly, without defects, you are His masterpiece.  in psalm 139 (msg), david said, “oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb.  i thank you, high God - you’re breathtaking!  body and soul, i am marvelously made!  i worship in adoration - what a creation!  you know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; you know exactly how i was made, bit by bit, how i was sculpted from nothing into something.”

so be encouraged that whatever needs to be fixed in your mind, your soul, your body - God’s knows exactly what part needs to be replaced and His warranty is fully intact (He will fix you!).  remember that Christ stands at the door of our heart and knocks, if we unlock the door and let Him in - He can get close to us and figure out what is wrong with us and what needs to be repaired.  let Him in, let Him examine you, let Him start today.

“He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be.”  romans 8:29 (msg)

“i’ll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new.  you’ll be strong again.”  amos 9:11 (msg)

“God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty - never canceled, never rescinded.”  romans 11:29 (msg)

dry

i have been out of town for 13 of the past 20 days.  after i got back from my second trip, i realized my lawn was turning brown and looked horrible.  i’ve always prided myself in having a much greener, healthier, more robust lawn then both of my neighbors (especially the one on the left).  as i investigated, i found out that our sprinkler system was broken.  so, for the past week, i’ve had to go out early in the morning and water the lawn and shrubbery (what a great word, say it with me “shrubbery”).  the daily watering takes about 15-20 minutes.  i’ve already noticed a huge improvement, and my little, tiny (socal) lawn is coming back to life again.  i had a guy come over and identify the sprinkler problem and he will be fixing it in the next few days.  from that point on, it will totally be taken care of automatically and i will not have to go out, crank up the hose and saturate the ground.

all of this got me thinking… if we don’t take 15-20 minutes each day to water the soil of our heart with God’s word and prayer - we dry up.  how many time have we put our spiritual life on “auto-mode” because we fail to recognize the importance of watering our lives with God’s life-giving word.  ”auto-mode” is set to water us once a week at church, but that is definitely not enough (not even close).  i wish we could simply look in the mirror and see that we need more God, but we can’t.  deep down we know we do.  we know we have dry places and burn spots that need to be drenched with the water of the word.  His word causes us to flourish, His Spirit brings new life to us daily.  how many of us are in a self-inflicted drought?  how many of us are honest enough to admit that we are dry spiritually (because we’re not seeking God daily).  

“he finds joy in the word of the Lord and he thinks about it day and night.  this man is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which gives its fruit at the right time and its leaf never dries up.  whatever he does will work out well for him.”  psalm 1:2-3 (nlv)

excerpts from psalm 119:

“my soul is laid in the dust.  give me new life because of your word.”

“i will never forget your word for by it you have given me new life.”

“oh, how i love your word.  it is what i think about all through the day.”

“how sweet is your word to my taste!  it is sweeter than honey to my mouth.”

“your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

“the opening of your word gives me light.  it gives me understanding.”

“i love your word more than gold, more than pure gold.”

“your word is my joy.”

“those who love your word have great peace, and nothing will cause them to be hurt in their spirit.”

“i will never forget your word.” 

80%

over the past 10 days i have been privileged to go to two incredible conferences - catalyst west and a.r.c. (our annual conf. for the church planting organization we belong to).  both conferences were amazing and had top notch worship (hillsong united, fee, c3 team) and some of the greatest communicators in the world (andy stanley, greg surrat, rick warren, chris hodges, dino rizzo, erwin mcmanus, craig groeschel, and others).

i could go point by point down the list of take-a-ways that i got (from each session) - but that might be boring.  so, let me attempt to share what happened in my heart while i was sitting in 38 hours worth of meetings over the course of 5 days.

at catalyst during the opening set of worship, i was moved to tears and had an incredible experience with God.  i realized that there were internal barriers that were causing me to hold back and coast a bit.  as i worshipped God i asked Him to bust through the barriers and demolish them - and He did!

 isaiah 64:1 (nlt) says, “oh, that you would burst from the heavens and come down!  how the mountains would quake in your presence!”  for me the mountains represented the barriers in my life that needed to (not only quake) but be totally crushed.  psalm 97:5 (cev) declares, “mountains melt away like wax in the presence of the Lord.”  so from the first chord being struck on joel houston’s guitar - God’s presence overshadowed me and began to melt away the mountains of complacency that were in me.

at the a.r.c. conf. the opening session dealt with the heart.  both conferences provided a much needed reminder that leadership is from the inside out.  i can’t lead externally without having a heart filled with passion, love and sacrifice for God.  being totally honest with you - i feel like i have been giving God 80%.  the issue is that He demands 100% and nothing less.  Jesus said to gain your life, you have to loose it.  he also said that we are to love God with all (100%) of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  so 80% doesn’t cut it and i became painfully aware of this.  one speaker said, “luke warm pastors build luke warm churches.”  man i hated to hear that!  after he said that i knew it applied to me.  i was confronted with the truth that i have been holding back and (most likely) causing others to hold back.  80% is luke warm.  80% sucks!

i feel like God has brought much needed correction to me.  i’m excited to see what He will do as i put the pedal to the medal and give Him all of me.  i’m convinced that some amazing things are going to happen in my life and at the summit.  no more 80%!   no more coasting!  no more going through the motions!  i hope this post encourages you and sparks a desire in you to go after God with everything you’ve got.  

“as the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul after you, God.”  psalm 42:1 (web)