From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 1 00:27:02 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 1 00:31:00 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Use the Design Message-ID: <0ACC30A8-CFCE-4EA6-8F93-6AED634F7B82@clanwebb.com> A few months ago, a young couple moved into the house next door to us. They had been married less than a year. They seemed happy and energetic. They were living an active life. Right away, though, we noticed certain things that didn't feel quite right. We rarely ever saw them together. They were always coming and going separately. They seemed to have very different interests and goals in life. Tonight, we saw a "For Sale" sign in their front yard. We haven't seen the husband around for several days. A mutual friend mentioned that things haven't been going well in their marriage. We assume that a divorce is in process and that's why the house must be sold. Years ago, I would have gobbled up the gossipy aspects of this story. What happened? Was someone cheating? Did they have a big fight? Give me the details. Now, I'm just saddened by it. Another marriage built on shifting sands has been blown over. Satan rejoices. It's disappointing. "Love never fails..." 1 Corinthians 13:8a You see, this marriage has likely failed because it wasn't based on love. Not God's love, anyway. They were living the typical American life and they quickly discovered that it wasn't making them happier. They needed to build around Christ. "But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided." 1 Corinthians 7:33-34a Now, this verse isn't suggesting that you should never get married. It's just pointing out that marriage is a difficult job. It's impossible if you have to choose between God and your immediate family. The only solution is to put God in your marriage so that you can glorify Him by building a holy relationship. If you don't have God in your marriage, invite Him in. If you do, pay attention to Him. If you're divided, get it rectified. Divided loyalties will tear you apart and the ending won't be pretty. Worshipping God by building a strong marriage and raising Godly children will bless you. It's the only way to make it really work. It's the way He designed it to work. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 1 21:47:49 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 1 21:51:22 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Ignore the Math Message-ID: I have come to another conclusion. I can't help doing that as I get older. I just feel like I should before it's too late. See if this makes any sense: There is a big difference between being intuitive and being specific. My father was intuitive and thought that most people with degrees got so lost in the specifics of things that they missed the big picture. Once, there was a flood in the Big Thompson canyon in Colorado. The river had been revamped for water control purposes and, in doing so, the capacity was severely diminished. It seemed to have taken all of the engineers by surprise when the flood caused property damage and some loss of life. It didn't surprise Dad. To his thinking, it had nothing to do with math or engineering. It was much simpler. If the river cut the canyon, then it took a lot of water at one time. It stood to reason that some day, big water would come through again. The news came out with a report that stated the engineers didn't take into account that the weather cycles did not go back far enough to anticipate this condition. Dad just laughed and let out with his favorite phrase, "Give 'em another degree and let 'em hang it on the wall." He approached everything that way, and his logic was always stated with the preamble, "It doesn't take a college professor to figure out..." We need college professors, engineers, mathematicians, and the rest as the world wouldn't progress very far without them. But, we need people like Dad, too. They see the principles in a problem and reach conclusions more quickly while people who work from specifics often come to the same conclusions, but more slowly. It's that way with faith in God. It's the principle that brings you your faith, not the math. "They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." "Genesis 11:4 It doesn't take a college professor to figure out you ain't going to build a tower to heaven. I don't care what the math says. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 2 22:26:29 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Jul 3 11:01:59 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Insanity Message-ID: <80ADD9FE-2AE4-48D5-B6A3-0E21E8A9175D@clanwebb.com> "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." This quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein. It seems obvious on the surface and, yet, people don't seem to use this principle in real life very often. How many times will we repeat sinful behavior hoping it'll turn out different? The Israelites should certainly have known this. The book of Judges describes a fairly predictable cycle that the Israelites went through every couple of decades. They would stop worshipping God and start worshipping other gods and idols. God would get angry with them and arrange for them to live under the authority of another race of people who lived nearby. Then, the people would cry out for salvation to God. He would hear their cry and send a judge to lead them. This would lead them to freedom again and they would live under the leadership of this judge for a few years honoring God. The judge would die and the people would forget what the big deal was and start to forget God again. Two or three times around this cycle is kind of maddening. Why don't they get it? After a few more times, it's almost comical if the misery weren't so real. There are many lessons to be learned in reading about the trials of the Israelites during this time. I think the one that applies to us the most, though, is regarding the nature of God. God never gave up on Israel. He never failed to send someone to help. He never stopped loving those He had chosen. So much, in fact, that He finally sent someone to solve the problem of sin once and for all. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18a "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. There are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23 He is willing to forgive all of your sins. His compassion cannot be exhausted. Once you have been chosen by Him to be His child, you cannot be lost. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-40 You can't do anything so bad that He would give up on you. It's insanity to think He would ever act differently. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 4 00:18:08 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Jul 4 00:21:32 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Freedom Message-ID: <3A7ED94A-A88D-4F70-A4CC-DA0C7E9F468F@clanwebb.com> July fourth is upon us and the email is flowing. One of my favorites stated that only two entities were willing to die for everyone in this country: Jesus Christ for your soul and the men and women of the armed services for your earthly freedom. The challenge is that most people in this country think freedom means, "It's all about me!" They feel they can do what they want when they want in any fashion they want to do it. They're looking for more freedom from the oppression of the "Thou shall not"s. God sets us free to voluntarily agree to obedience. We get to choose our master. We don't get to choose to be the master. "Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God." 1 Peter 2:16 "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13 If you know Jesus you are a free man. Just remember that gravity allows you to be free to fall, also. However, it doesn't restore you. You just become a big, flat mass on the pavement. Happy Fourth! Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 5 00:22:00 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 5 00:23:32 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Push On or Turn Back? Message-ID: <2FA99B08-4F06-484E-B94E-19C59F6159EB@clanwebb.com> Sometimes, I'm just not clear on what He's trying to say to me. Where I start to lose track is when I'm trying to discern the difference between a tough spot that He wants me to move through and a closed door that should cause me to change direction. Let me give you some real life analogies to make my point. When hiking with my dad, it was not uncommon for us to be unsure about where the trail went. When you get into thick forest, there's places with no undergrowth. So, it can be hard to see whether it's the trail or just a coincidental flat space between the trees. When we'd come to some thicker growth or more tightly packed trees, we'd have to decide if it was just overgrown or whether we'd taken a wrong turn. When it became downright impassable, we knew we needed to go back. This last couple of weeks, I've been jogging more. After about the third time, my knees were a little sore. This was my decision point. Did it mean I shouldn't be jogging? Or did it simply mean I was out of shape and needed to push through it? I ran once more yesterday and ended up limping home. Only after some painkillers and ice could I even walk around the house much. They're still sore today. I've now decided that I was wrong. This isn't something to push through. This is the wrong way. I need to find another path. How can you tell the difference in your life? When do you push on and when do you change direction? This is a tough call, but I think it has to do with who you follow. Take Paul's example: "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Acts 16:6-7 Paul knew that God's will was that he spread the gospel. However, God clearly closed two areas of the world to him. Paul could have just stopped and decided to wait until God would let him into those areas. Paul could have decided that he had misinterpreted God and started praying for a new path. Instead, Paul just kept trying new directions until God sent him to Macedonia. He would go on to help found a strong church in Philippi. The key here was that Paul never stopped following God. Where we get in trouble is when we take a piece of God's leading and add our own plans to it. If God has given you dreams and hopes for a destination in life, don't decide how it will come about. Keep working toward them, but if He leads you a different direction, follow willingly. Don't give up. Don't shut down the rest of your life and wait. Just keep following His lead. Take the opportunities He offers. Serve Him in any way you can find. Find your joy in being His bondservant. He'll bring you back around. He'll lead you to the dreams He's planted in your head. "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." " 1 Corinthians 2:9 Just remember: He knows what He's doing. Follow Him. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 5 23:50:21 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 5 23:51:16 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Know Your Part Message-ID: Do you often find that your routine of life is just plain out of the mainstream with God? Sometimes I look at my life and think, "How in the world does getting up, going to work, coming home, going through an evening routine, and then doing it all over again the next day begin to compare with what I ought to be doing for God? Where is my noble calling?" I often look at people that are working at, as well as in, the faith as being the A team and I'm just a guy that shows up for tryouts from time to time. We give (probably not enough) money and time, but we never get to carry the flag or march in the parade. Jesus spoke about this in Mark when He had just done something spectacular. The Lord had just freed a man from demon possession. Out of gratefulness and thankfulness, the man said that he wanted to go with Jesus and become part of the team, march in the parade, and be associated with Jesus personally. "As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon- possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed." Mark 5:18-20 What would the world be like if we just did that much? How big of a parade would it start? Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 6 22:55:14 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Jul 6 22:55:53 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Bozo or Boaz? Message-ID: For years and years, men have misused the Scripture that defines the roles of husband and wife to exert power. They do this while overlooking their own responsibilities to their wives that is just a verse or two away. It's always easy to remember the commandments God directs at other people. It's much harder to remember those directed at yourself. Furthermore, we should treat every woman with respect and caring because she is either someone's wife or may become a wife. You represent male behavior in moments like that and there's no reason to make it tougher on the current husband or husband-to-be. I don't know how many times I've been watching a movie with my wife when a man does something mean or terrible to a woman. She'll turn and slap me on the arm and call me a jerk! I've stopped watching those kind of movies with her. I think we all have the opportunity to be a bozo or a Boaz. I'm referring to the man we learn about in the book of Ruth who took in and cared for the widow of a relative even though he didn't have to. He made sure she had enough to eat and that she was safe working in his fields. He went above and beyond for her. "So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." Ruth 2:8-9 Even when she showed a desire to marry him, he didn't take advantage of her. He followed the law and made sure other relatives that should have that opportunity first were given that chance. Ruth's mother-in- law, Naomi, knew what kind of man Boaz was. "Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." " Ruth 2:18 He was a perfect gentleman. Do you go above and beyond for the women around you? Do you even do it for your wife? "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25 Yep. That one's directed at you. If you aren't married, then practice this kind of love on the women around you. They deserve it, too. Don't be a bozo. Be a Boaz. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 7 22:43:32 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Jul 7 22:44:23 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Watch Your Steps Message-ID: <1F4522DF-E6FC-4B4A-BA20-24D2EE272762@clanwebb.com> Terminally enthusiastic people drive me nuts. They think that, by pure force of smiling on the deck of a sinking ship, they can turn things around. Now, it can be said that I can be pretty harsh in the face of realism and many have even called me negative. On the other hand, as long as there is something to do about a situation, I can stand tall with the best of them. But, there does come a time to abandon the ship and cut your losses. The difference is knowledge. The smarter you are, the less chance you will get on a leaky boat in the first place. God tells us to embrace knowledge. It's why He invented the capacity. "Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries his footsteps errs." Proverbs 19:2 Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 8 22:40:02 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 8 22:40:42 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Revealing Fire Message-ID: <20086CD3-FD51-48FC-BB5C-E57EAA2AA2FB@clanwebb.com> From time to time, I do a little woodworking to relax. I like the idea of creating something from raw materials that I first constructed in my head. I'm not an artist, so the beauty comes from clean lines, good joints, and solid construction. When I'm working on a complex project, I always dread wasted work or wasted material. I hate it when I've spent half an hour doing intricate measurements and delicate cuts only to find I measured wrong, or I slip and cut too much. That piece of wood is usually useless after that. I have to set it aside and hope I might find some use for it in the future. I also have to hope that I have another piece that I can start over with. It's frustrating because I have nothing to show for the work I put in during that time. It's discouraging, because it has cost me time and money and I'm back where I started. Part of the reason I do woodwork, though, is to be alone and meditate on my project and, usually, my life. Today, as I was cutting with a jigsaw, I thought about whether I was heading down that same road with my life. Was I spending days and weeks doing intricate calculations and making precise moves to create and achieve things in my life that didn't mean anything to God? Would it have any value to Him? "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through flames." 1 Corinthians 3: 11-15 I would be devastated to see my home go up in flames. How much more devastating will it be if I see my the product of my life do the same in the presence of my Lord? There is value in doing good quality work. Just make sure you're building with the right materials. You need something that will survive His revealing fire. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 9 23:49:24 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Jul 9 23:50:36 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Get Comfortable Message-ID: <6F862C3C-A188-4239-8357-2CB6063BD695@clanwebb.com> I feel like I'm repeating myself, but I'll say it anyway. The more I read the Word, the more I learn about God. The more depth and power He gives to guidance laid out for me. I've started reading the book of Ezra. This is the story of a handful of exiled Israelites, who were living in Babylon, making the trip back home to rebuild Jerusalem. There is a powerful parallel of their physical lives and the decision they had to make with our spiritual lives and a decision we have to make. So, imagine this entire race of people transplanted to Persia and having to make a new life. It's not what they wanted, but they make do. After some years, most are even settling in to a routine and find the life acceptable. Then a new king comes to power and in the first year, he turns their lives upside down. He announces that anyone who chooses can go back to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the city and the temple. Now, all of these people have to choose to either stay with the life they know or go back home and work hard. The number who actually chose to go was about 50,000. This was a small fraction of those who could go. "Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites - everyone whose heart God had moved - prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:5 God moved the hearts of those he wanted to go. It's a small number, but they are the called ones. When called, they went. They disregarded routine and the perceived comfort of their lives. They went. We live in a modern day Babylon and it's exceedingly easy to be comfortable and routine about living here. The life offered here grabs and pulls at us. It drags us down and tells us to be comfortable. But then, God called you. Will you answer the call? "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." 1 Peter 2:11 Will you be comfortable and accept the offer of Babylon? Or will you go, be less comfortable, deny yourself the pleasures of this world and build the Lord's temple? You have to choose. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 11 00:10:16 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Jul 11 00:12:50 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Recognize the Obvious Message-ID: It isn't unusual for God to be indirect. What I mean to say is that, often his message starts out as what appears to be outside of me and for someone else, and then like a great curve ball, it ends up in my strike zone. We had a guest give the sermon this past Sunday. The speaker was a young man from Haiti that was raised in an orphanage and, through God's grace, is here to study for the ministry. He apologized for any mistakes he might make in the language as his accent was fairly think, but his message couldn't have been clearer. Once again, I found myself looking at this man of God and wondering why he was chosen to have such a noble calling and my life seems to be a constant cycle of the everyday trials that could be avoided with a little forward thinking. I was prepared for a safe message, one that would apply to a broad scope of folks. I figured it would be something obvious in nature. Here came the curve ball. John the Baptist is in prison and he sends his boys over to Jesus to ask Him, "Say, partner, I don't mind sitting here in jail, but since I was the point of the spear of the whole operations, I just thought that you an dI would be in this together. Are you the guy we are waiting for or is there someone else?" I can relate to John, because I'm guilty of thinking, "Yo, partner, remember me?" Naturally, Jesus is the point. He's the reason and we can simply drift from the point. His answer was to the point, too. "So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." " Luke 7:22 In other words, "If you can't see the obvious and have to ask if I'm the guy, then a little time of self-examination will do you good." I really hate it when He does that to me. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 12 00:14:59 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 12 00:15:43 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Trust the Temporary Message-ID: <2E5EE580-7559-47C5-A28C-D21B607D5A76@clanwebb.com> Perspective has a powerful influence over our decisions. It's quite easy to be blinded by the excitement (or fear) of the moment and make profound decisions based on very small factors. It happens with children all over this country when they just insist on having the latest toy or game when it is at the height of popularity and at its peak price. A year or two later, that same item can be had for a buck at the neighbor's yard sale. Hard earned money was spent for something that had a rapidly declining value. People will choose to get married because of their current life situation. Two years later those issues have completely changed, but they still have to maintain a marriage. It's a mark of maturity when you can overlook the things that will pass and make decisions based on those things that will last and still be around for the long run. That's why we should save money for retirement and our children's education. It's why we should save up to buy a big ticket item rather than put it on the credit card. We should always be asking, "What are the long term effects?" Recognizing that we, as human beings, have a difficult time getting real perspective on life is a huge step toward understanding that we need to trust someone else. It can help to talk to other people, but ultimately, we need to trust God who has the best perspective of all. Moses understood the need to live according to the permanent things: "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Hebrews 11:24-26 He knew there was something bigger and better and learned to look beyond the temptations of what was right in front of him. We need to do that, too. Don't make life decisions based on the emotions of the moment. Think about what will pass away and what will be permanent. "You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation." Lamentations 5:19 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Revelation 22:13 It doesn't get more permanent than that. Don't make decisions just based on what you see. Talk to God and read His Word. Use the permanent things of the universe to guide your life, not the temporary. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 12 23:03:21 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 12 23:04:01 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Trust an Enemy's Offer Message-ID: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' " Ronald Reagan I've always loved Reagan's wit and how he used it to speak the truth about the world. This quote sums up nicely his distrust of an unrestricted government. He felt the best way for a government to help was to get out of the way because someone else can do it better, cheaper, and more efficiently. That fundamental distrust should exist in all of us when it comes to people or institutions that don't always have our best interests at heart. When the neighbor who doesn't like you offers to build a fence between your homes, be worried. The property line is liable to get fudged. When the auto mechanic tells you he's not sure what's wrong, but he'll call you when it's fixed, get ready to write a big check. My wife and I have experienced this kind of a situation in regards to the fact that we homeschool. More than once, we've had letters from the local public school district offering help. They offer classes, teacher assistance, and sometimes even money to help us teach our child. Why the generosity? Because there's money and control in it for them. The goal of these programs is to deceptively change a student's status to being treated as a public school student. That, in turn, gives teachers and principals control over what is taught and how it's taught. Alternatively, the desire might be to spend one or two hours a week with a student, but make sure he shows up on the enrollment sheet so the school can collect more money from the state without having to fill a seat all week. Either way, the school rarely has my interests at heart. We've learned to turn down their offers. When the Israelites went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, they were given a similar offer: "When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the head so of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here." Ezra 4:1-2 Why would their enemies offer to help? Because they wanted to dilute the meaning of the temple. They wanted to worship God their own way in that temple. They didn't have the Israelites' best interests at heart. That's okay. The Israelites knew it and said, "no thanks." The enemies responded by showing their true colors and turning on the Israelites: "Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia." Ezra 4:4-5 Talk about a grudge! They hired people to discourage them for years and years. That's being dedicated to your feud. This story shows us, that that you can't trust an enemy that offers help without reconciliation. For us, that enemy is usually the world. The offers seem good, but can you trust them? Trust God. Stick with the one who has your best interests at heart. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 13 22:03:27 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Jul 13 22:04:08 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Settle For Second Best Message-ID: <95F7234F-81F1-429B-A716-BC47926B2C7F@clanwebb.com> "Someone once said that "second best is the worst enemy of the best." People have always tended to cling to the old, even when something far better is offered." Linda L. Belleville So it was with Jesus, the old way was just too hard to give up. We have to remember that Jesus passed the tests. All of them. The upgrade was obvious, but nobody wants to be second best. If there is someone better than Jesus, then let them step forward, show their credentials, their results, or their authority. Let them show anything other than their desire not to change. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 What part of your old life do you refuse to release? What is it that you retain just because you can't stand the idea that, after all these years, it was second best? Are you really giving something up? Or are you just making more room for something better? Make room for Jesus. Make all the room you can, because there is nothing in this world that is worth more. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 14 23:16:05 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Jul 14 23:16:46 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Ultimate Trade Message-ID: <694978B4-CAFE-4248-B59A-54463BF2FD5C@clanwebb.com> Today, I was reading about the upcoming trading deadline in Major League Baseball. Most of the stories consist of predictions about which teams will likely be making a push for the playoffs and which ones will throw in the towel. Then come the predictions about the needs of those teams that are going for it and which players they should trade for. Then there are the stories about past trades and how they've turned out. These deadline deals often mean trading prospects or steady veterans for a star. At least, that's the plan. Often the value of some player is over-inflated or those prospects turn into all-stars later in life. There's always a debate about whether it was worth it. One writer made the point that sometimes it is worth it. Some teams don't get too many opportunities to get to the playoffs or the World Series. Sometimes it is still a good plan to make a lopsided trade to get the one piece you needed to win it all. As he put it, "After all, flags fly forever." His point being that winning a championship can have long lasting value for an organization that may be worth the loss of talent. It occurred to me that these writers were engaging in a value comparison study, but they weren't quite sure what the parameters were. Is it about always getting better than what you gave away? Is it about winning now? Where's the real value? I was obliquely reminded of Jesus' parable of the pearl: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46 The point He's making is that once you've found Christ, all of your other possessions are much less valuable to you. You are happy to give them up to gain Christ. That's an easy trade to make. I wonder how many of us make that value comparison and aren't sure of what to compare? Are your car, TV, or other things more valuable to you than Christ? Would you trade them all if He asked you to? Would it be worth it to you? If you aren't sure of the answer, then I think you've overlooked the value. Christ is the only one that will put you over the top and punch your ticket for Heaven. Do you want to keep making safe trades so you can know that you're doing slightly better each year? Or, do you want to make the seemingly crazy trade of giving away those things that other people value more so you can fully experience Christ? This isn't about how rich you are or how many toys you have. It's about where they land on your priority list. Make sure that you are willing to let it all go if He asks. And, when He does ask, let it go. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 16 00:26:18 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Jul 16 00:26:58 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Role Player Message-ID: <52F51C6B-A569-4161-8BE8-1C808BBD2505@clanwebb.com> My son and I were talking about a video game that he plays online. It involves playing with a team of medieval characters against another team. What makes it so fascinating is that your team can be made up of many different kinds of players with different kinds of abilities. The challenge is to build a team with all the right skills and powers that can fight any other combination that you might come up against. He was telling me that one of the problems they often have is that in the midst of battle, people on his team forget their roles. They start to argue with other team members or some will change the plan because they think the original one is failing. This kind of infighting almost always leads to a loss. He really wanted to build a team of players such that when the leader gave an order to attack or defend, everyone knew what to do. The key was in knowing your role and then following through with it. It struck me that much of the pain we endure in life is when we start arguing with God over His plan. We don't like the role we have and want to change the plan. We may even want to try to change roles. It rarely ends well. King David recognized where he fit in God's plan. He was told as a child that he would become king, but it didn't happen immediately. At any point he could have tried to raise an army and challenge the authority of King Saul, but he didn't. He knew that God had placed Saul on the throne and he needed to wait for God to remove Saul. David not only waited, but he was hunted and threatened for quite a while. He never challenged God's plan or his own role in that plan. He just survived until God called on him to be king. John the Baptist understood this quite well, too. When his disciples complained that more people were following Jesus, John answered: "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:29-30 Are you struggling against the role God has set out for you? Are you arguing with His battle plan? You know, we all have a better chance of success if you are a team player. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 Play your part. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 16 22:17:09 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Jul 16 22:18:07 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Know When to Rest Message-ID: <7D9A1D81-CD5A-49F5-B10A-994A13806DA2@clanwebb.com> Yesterday was one of those days... It started out to be a day of rest, a day when I was just going to stay at home with my family. My daughter had driven over from eastern Washington and the weather was grand. Then everybody, their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins decided that they wanted to look at houses and the phone began to ring off the hook. I left home an didn't return until 10:30 in the evening. I am in a service-based business, so I have to be ready to be respond and give fresh service to every new face that comes my way. During the day, my cell phone went dead from overuse. The car charger decided not to charge. The company computer system decided to knock off early and I called home and managed to hurt my wife's feelings. I don't know if God will bring any business my way out of showing twenty-one houses, but the one thing I know is that it is up to Him and not me. I thought I started out to do the right thing. I thought I was doing the right thing all day. Now, I am not so sure what yesterday was all about. It could be an answer to prayer or a generator of prayer. "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." " Mark 6:31 Please tell me there are no cell phones in Heaven. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 18 00:14:23 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Jul 18 00:15:15 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Wars and Relationships Message-ID: I've been reading the news with more interest lately as this conflagration with Israel and a bunch of terrorists heats up. With the frame of reference we have from 9/11 until today, there are many similarities in how to deal with the adversary. There are the primary requirements of any sane government that action by the military must be in defense of national interests or the interests of allies. When terms of peace are discussed, the nation in question must seek concessions by the enemy. There is no value in giving something for nothing. And even then, you must make sure that the concessions are of real value to your own interests. In Ronald Reagan's words, "Trust, but verify." These are very selfish attitudes, but that's because they involve countries and governments. Diplomacy between nations is very different than between individuals. Unfortunately, many around the world confuse the two. They believe that the way to solve problems between nations is the same way you solve problems between people. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. Using those principles I mentioned above can make you a successful diplomat, but try the same thing at home and you'll be a failure as a husband. When it comes to relationships between people, Jesus had a very different approach. So much so, that it was even radical when compared to what the religious leaders of the day had been saying. It's still radical today when compared to how the world tells us to act. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:43-45 Love 'em all. Let God sort 'em out. "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." Proverbs 25:21-22 Feeding your enemy is a terrible plan when leading an army. It's God's plan when dealing with someone who just doesn't like you. Men are built to be warriors. We have the natural inclination to stand our ground and demand fairness. Just be careful not to use those skills on your wife or other relationships. You need to love, give, and pray for those folks. You can't convince someone else to open up if you are holding back. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 19 00:43:31 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 19 00:44:18 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Moot Point Message-ID: I get a chuckle when I see people seriously debating situations that will never occur. This happens to me quite a bit as my circle of friends includes quite a few geeky types who love to debate the feasibility of science fiction and comic books. I myself have been known to discuss how the Enterprise could have used the transporter more to their advantage in several episodes. I've seen people adamantly defend their position on what would happen if you ejected a person out of the airlock while going at warp speed. Heck, I've even complained that a comic book character was not translated to a live-action movie well because he clearly would have used his superpower in a different way. This is somewhat similar to sports nuts arguing over whether the '27 Yankees would have been able to beat the Big Red Machine. Or, would Joe Montana's 49ers have been able to defeat the Steel Curtain? These are all moot because they are based on a false or impossible premise. There is no Enterprise and there are no transporters. There are no superheroes with superpowers. There is no way to have teams from different time periods play each other. It's just not possible. I get the very same effect when I hear people discussing what you have to do to get to Heaven. When folks argue over just how much you have to donate or how many good works you have to do, it's the same problem. It's all based on an impossible premise. They start out with the idea that you can earn your way in. Don't ever fall into that trap. Your salvation is a gift. You didn't earn any of it. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 You'll go nuts trying to figure out how to earn God's favor. You can't do it. You can only accept His love and realize it's a gift. Others will know you are saved by how you love, but don't think that's what punched your ticket. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 19 22:30:01 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Jul 19 22:31:11 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Cliffhanger Message-ID: <3128E480-226B-47EF-8C22-B4D7D5B2B5B9@clanwebb.com> Cliffhanger was a term we used a lot in my youth. On application had to do with what was known as a serial. These were movies or radio plays that were offered in installments and typically each episode ended with a piece of action that left the viewer or listener wondering what was going to happen next. In other words, it left you hanging. Many times I saw an episode end with the cowboy hero heading off of the mountain in a runaway wagon only to come back next week to see him jump out of the darn thing before it went over the edge. The same idea can be said about accepting Jesus Christ. You may still be headed over the cliff in the wagon, but just in the nick of time, you are saved. Episode after episode in my life, God has made a diving catch and the whole situation comes to a completely different conclusion than I anticipated. He can turn events around in mere seconds. "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand." Psalm 37:24 Stay tuned for next week's exciting adventure. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 21 00:01:45 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Jul 21 00:02:30 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Choice Message-ID: <138EBF0D-973B-4BA9-80D3-15CE98A2315A@clanwebb.com> How much of your life do you go through being led by other people or the expectations of others or even just habit? Do you avoid topics of conversation because they might make you look like an outsider? Do you skip church to watch football because all of your buddies are? Do you put a buck in the offering plate once a week, but spend four bucks every day on coffee? Why? Because it's "normal"? We do it because it's easier to fit in than to stand out. The big lie that we let ourselves believe is that it's just life. It's just the way things are. Guess what? You have a choice. You can choose to merge with the herd and act like everyone else, or you can choose another way. "I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws." Psalm 119:30 You won't be popular, in fact you might lose friends. You'll have to read about the game and you might have to skip coffee once in a while, but you will have chosen to do that. You can choose to be righteous. Read the Word to find out how. Pray about it to keep on track. Most of all, make the choice. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 22 00:13:27 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 22 00:14:10 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Choose the Highway Message-ID: I used to think that some people were just cursed. I never quite understood what was going on, but you'd see these people on the news or in an article that seemed to have had ten times the normal amount of bad stuff in their life. The ones the really drove me mad, though, were the ones that would be living off of Social Security and food stamps and looked fairly normal. Then they'd tell you that they have three different diseases, they have a bad back or a bad leg, and suffer from depression. For all of these reasons, they couldn't work and needed to depend on the government to pay for their mountain of prescriptions and cable TV. You usually see stories like this when a politician starts talking about cutting taxes. We're supposed to feel guilty enough to fight against any kind of tax relief. As I got older, I realized that there's some portion of these folks that are stretching the truth a bit because it's an easier life. They can sit and complain about the world, they can claim that they'd be right in the thick of things if it weren't for their terribly bad luck, and they don't have to work that hard to get by. Sometimes, these folks can become self-fulfilling prophecies. People can subconsciously sabotage any chances for success in life because, deep down, they really don't want their situation to change. They start to see problems around every corner and want to just stop trying. Turns out I had spotted something that God knows all about already. People do it with their spiritual life just as much as with their physical life. "The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway." Proverbs 15:19 "The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!" " Proverbs 22:13 You have to want to follow Christ. You have to want to follow through with His commands. You can't beg off for lame excuses. He knows your heart. Find the highway. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 23 00:09:49 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Jul 23 00:11:26 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] When Nobody's Watching Message-ID: <2AC67D68-AF58-4618-A01D-6A948C2B0A39@clanwebb.com> Imagine you are sitting at a traffic light in the left hand turn lane. The lane is clearly marked with an arrow on the pavement and the light above has the traditional red, yellow, and green lights. At the bottom of the light is an arrow pointing left which is illuminated red. There's absolutely nobody in sight. You are late to an appointment. The letter of the law tells you one thing and the spirit of the law is obvious. The letter of the law says, "Buddy, you keep your rear end right where you are until told to do otherwise." The spirit of the law says, "Friend, we went to all this trouble so that when two or more of you folks meet at this spot at the same time, you will know what to do." Did I mention that you're all alone with nobody in sight? In your heart, which of these choices kicks in? Is it the letter of the law or the spirit? After all, who's it going to harm just this once? What if you read your Bible the same way? "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19 We are never truly alone, are we? Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 23 21:53:42 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Jul 23 21:54:26 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Be Transformed Message-ID: <540936EA-71D5-44CA-885F-F66D1958D6B3@clanwebb.com> Foundries are great "guy" places. They're dirty, hot, full of stuff that has gears, and best of all, molten metal. The one where I worked had real history. It had produced Liberty ship and tank parts during WWII. I loved the smell of the place and most of the guys were as crusty as last week's bread. We poured non-ferrous metals. That means no iron or steel, just copper-based metals and aluminum. Bronze is a romantic metal. It even has a whole age named after it. There are several types of bronze, but they are all about 88% copper. Now, copper is pretty soft as metals go, but it undergoes a miraculous transformation when you add just a pinch of another element. One of my favorites was nickel aluminum bronze. It was amazing what just a little of these two elements would do to copper. It could turn soft copper into something tougher than your old man after you backed his new car over his new riding lawnmower. In short, it was a complete transformation. Most of us are born with a copper faith. We put on a good front and look tough until something comes along and knocks us off our pins. Then Jesus adds a pinch of endurance and somehow we get up and brush ourselves off. If we would just learn to stay in the Word and ingest the elements of the Word, we would be transformed. "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23 Remember this when the sledge hammer to the chest catches you off-guard. "so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" 1 Peter 1:7 Go ahead. Become a crusty, old Christian. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 25 00:09:54 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Jul 25 00:10:25 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Jesus Who? Message-ID: <703BD0A7-A82C-4067-9C41-27F39839F9B1@clanwebb.com> Most of the world accepts the fact that Jesus really did live on the earth and He did have a following. But, if you were to ask twenty- five people at random who He was, you would likely get a variety of answers. Depending on who you ask, He was an influential teacher, a religious leader, a social reformer, a charlatan, the spiritual Son of God, the Father of the Christian faith and, my all time favorite from the Indian mystic that almost took over eastern Oregon, "A flute upon God's lips." Making Jesus fit into the modern age is a full time occupation for some people. Earl Doherty holds that Christianity began with a mythical Christ. He argues that the diffuse undercurrent of religious thought called early Christianity can be shown to be a plausible descendant or cousin of Jewish mystical speculation on the scriptures (found in such writings at the Odes of Solomon, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Philo of Alexandria) and was probably well-received by those converts to early Christianity who were influenced by Platonism and Hellenistic soteriological ideas of the day. (According to my spelling checker, this guy makes up words) John Dominic Crossan speculates that the historical Jesus proves to be a displaced Galilean peasant artisan who had become fed up with the situation and went about preaching a radical message: an egalitarian vision of the Kingdom of God present on earth and available to all as manifested in the acts of Jesus in healing the sick and practicing an open commensality in which all were invited to share. (Again, according to my spelling checker, this guy can't spell, either) Some of these guys are the greatest cure of insomnia on the planet. They wouldn't know Jesus unless He was the head of their department and held the power of tenure, submission for publication, granting sabbatical, or the corner office with its own parking space. Jesus (God, the Son) has existed from eternity with God, the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit. "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus] and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God [...] and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." John 1:1,14 Jesus made reference to His pre-earth existence: "Father, glorify me with the glory I had with thee before the world was." John 17:5 Right now, Jesus is in Heaven with the Father just as He was before creation. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 25 23:53:50 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Jul 25 23:54:31 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] It's Not Yours Message-ID: <2D92F6F4-7636-483D-9272-BCDAD31A784E@clanwebb.com> "He who dies with the most toys, wins." I'm sure you've seen this on a T-shirt or bumper sticker at some point. It's a pretty good summary of the measure of success the world uses and proclaims to us every day. Accumulating wealth, possessions, and power is the goal of life that the world wants us to have. Now, it's clear that such a goal is not only wrong, but actually dangerous to our spiritual life. This doesn't mean that being a Christian means you have to be poor. It means that you can't let your financial situation be your ultimate goal in life. Material wealth is a means to an end, not the end itself. God may choose to bless you with material wealth as a test. Just remember that nothing you have is yours. It's all God's: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" Psalm 24:1 That house? God's. That car? God's. That TV? God's. Your bank account? God's. He's loaned you all of these things to see how you'll handle it. This is called stewardship. You are responsible for God's possessions and must treat them as such. It's a test to see what you can handle when it comes to the real riches of spiritual wealth. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" Luke 16:10-12 Remember, that the wealth and possessions are God's and you need to continue serving God. Don't get caught up craving money as then you become a slave to it. Don't tell yourself that you can have it both ways, either: "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13 It's not yours. Just take good care of it until the Owner comes to reclaim it. And, most of all, don't forget about the Owner. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 27 00:18:57 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Jul 27 00:19:35 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Stop Blending In Message-ID: During my very short time in ROTC boot camp, I learned one lesson very quickly. You didn't want to attract the attention of any of the drill sergeants. Their attention usually led to extra push-ups or laps. So, it became better to just blend in and do what everyone else did. I can even remember times when we were learning how to march and listening to sergeant call out marching orders. If the guy in front of me did the wrong thing, I would tend to follow him rather than do what I thought was the right thing. I was so concerned about standing out and possibly making a mistake, that I figured it was better to be yelled at as a group when we all went the wrong way rather then ridiculed as an individual. This is a strong human trait. We tend to stick with the herd for perceived safety. If the head of the herd is running towards a cliff, it doesn't matter. We feel safe in the middle of a crowd. It's a false perception. There is no safety in doing what everyone else does. There's acceptance from the rest of the herd, but that's it. That and three bucks will buy you a latte. There's a great story in the book of Daniel about three guys who didn't mind standing out. Even though they knew the consequences of their actions would probably be death. They did it anyway. When King Nebuchadnezzar furiously demanded that these three friends bow down and worship the statue the King had just built, they responded clearly: "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18 That took guts. They knew God could save them, but they weren't sure that He would. Regardless, they knew that they had to follow God's law first and refuse to worship an idol. Suddenly, being afraid to stand out because you might get laughed at or excluded from a party doesn't seem that bad. In America, nobody is going to kill you for being a Christian. Stand up, stand out, and be a man of God. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 28 00:01:47 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Jul 28 00:03:16 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Learn the Rules Message-ID: Same game, different rules. When you played hide-and-seek with your friends, you knew the rules. But, when you went to some other kid's house, they would have different rules. That was part of the fun as long as you knew the new rules. It wasn't any fun when you are playing by one set of rules and the other guy is using another set of rules. The fun simply goes out of the game and it usually ended up with hard feelings. What are the rules? When you become serious about a game the first thing you do is get the rules right. You look for the authority, then you play the game by the rules if you want to be successful. What are the rules of God? The answer is in one word: seek. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 If you don't seek out the authority, there will come a time when the rules will change and you will be playing at the other guy's house. "During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them." Revelation 9:6 Then the rules become very clear. But, by that time, it's too late to play the game. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 29 00:25:13 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 29 00:27:35 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Other Shoe Message-ID: <9E469422-1AFE-4137-9555-1A44765469C6@clanwebb.com> I love how God teaches me a little bit more each day. I love it for a few reasons. I love the fact that I get to learn more about how I'm supposed to live and I learn more truths about how life works. It's also validation, though. The fact that He's showing me something new tells me that my relationship with HIm is working. That's encouraging, too. Today, He led me to a truth that hadn't occurred to me before, but seems logical in retrospect. Furthermore, He led me there on a path that I never thought I'd be on. You see, I consider myself an optimist. I'm always looking for the good news. If there isn't any, I'm looking for the escape route. I'm not one to dwell on setbacks or wallow in self-pity. However, I got to a place this week that was new to me. All aspects of my life have been going fairly well and fairly smoothly. As a matter of fact, it's been going on that way long enough that I was actually developing a latent worry about when it might end. So, here I was, the optimist, enjoying blessings from God, but worrying about some undefined bump in the road that I had no evidence was coming. Then I read this: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1 There's more in James: "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14 I've read these over and over in the past. They always seemed to be telling me not to place confidence in my own abilities or plans. But, today, they told me that there's no reason to spend time worrying. I can't plan for the unexpected. I can be prepared, but I can't be actively planning a counterattack when nobody has attacked me yet. What I heard from God was, "Enjoy it. Don't spoil it by worrying about when it will end." Often I write about what the Bible says to do when things are going wrong. Oddly enough, I learned a lesson today about what to do when things are going right. God will bless you. When He does, soak it up and give thanks. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 29 22:10:23 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Jul 29 22:11:06 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Opinion and Power Message-ID: "Power rules the world, not opinion, but it is opinion that exploits power." Pascal This statement is certainly true when it comes to the world. When someone is in power or rises to power, it is opinion that keeps him there. In the United States, we express our opinion with our vote and we can change who is in power. On the other hand, there are many places where once someone attains power and controls opinion, they don't have to worry about what anybody thinks. If someone disagrees, they just have them jailed or killed. There has never been anybody on earth with more power than Jesus Christ. He displayed power over every aspect of creation, including death. Why doesn't He use His power to sway our opinion? Because, in the end, that is a false power. What good is it to have control if you have to surround yourself with protection from dissension? It doesn't affect Jesus' power if someone doesn't agree with Him. He has nothing to prove to any living human being. It is up to each individual to agree or disagree. He can't be overthrown or voted out of office. He is the standard by which all power should be judged. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," Phillipians 3:10 All in favor say, "Aye". Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Jul 31 00:27:43 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Jul 31 00:28:23 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Diode of Life Message-ID: <37D43BD7-9364-4D3B-AA7B-142AB4C5AB09@clanwebb.com> When I first started learning about electronics in high school, I was introduced to the world of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and a unique item called a diode. You see diodes every day as one form of diode is the light emitting diode or LED. All those little red, green, yellow, and blue lights on your cell phone, DVD player, and microwave clock are diodes. What makes diodes interesting is that their purpose in life is to let current flow through one direction, but not another. Basically, it's a one-way street for electric current. This can be useful in many ways. Most other components will work when current flows in either direction, but the diode does not. The diode came to mind as I considered all of the things we gain and lose in life. Many of those things can go both directions. We can gain and lose wealth. We can gain and lose power. Our life can go back and forth along the circuit from challenging to blessed. God doesn't guarantee any of these things to us. As a matter of fact, He warns us not to depend on them: "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." Proverbs 23:5 "When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing." Proverbs 11:7 The one thing that you can lose, but cannot gain back is time. Time flows like current through a diode. Once it's gone through, it can't go back. Time will catch up to the most wealthy and most powerful people on the planet. It has never failed to catch them and I don't see it stopping now. God warns us about that, too: "[...] I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2 Here He's speaking about getting saved, but the principle is true for all aspects of your spiritual life. Time is getting shorter, not longer. You only have so much time here and you don't even know how long that is. Whether it's getting saved or following Christ in earnest, the time is now. Don't find yourself thinking, "I wish I had more time." Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Jul 31 23:28:12 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Jul 31 23:28:55 2006 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Justice for the Poor Message-ID: I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Each day that I read about the conflict in Lebanon, I am shocked by the refusal to point out the righteous and unrighteous in the fight. One side is made up of fanatics who believe that the enemy does not have the right to live. They use civilians as human shields and then use the deaths of those civilians as propaganda when they are killed. They hide behind UN stations. They do not wear uniforms. They fire weapons indiscriminately into civilian areas for the express purpose of killing as many innocents as possible. The other side is made up of an organized military force that is attempting to prevent attacks into their homeland. They would happily stay within their own borders if the enemy would stop insisting on killing and kidnapping whenever they feel like it. This side drops leaflets warning civilians that their town is about to be bombed (giving the enemy warning and reducing the effectiveness of the bombing for humanitarian reasons). This side goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and apologizes profusely when they happen. "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." Proverbs 29:7 Now, who appears to care about the poor? Who seems to be at least attempting to be righteous? It doesn't seem that hard to see from my point of view. The world would rather tell us that there's no difference. God says otherwise. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 1 00:27:02 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2006 00:27:02 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Use the Design Message-ID: <0ACC30A8-CFCE-4EA6-8F93-6AED634F7B82@clanwebb.com> A few months ago, a young couple moved into the house next door to us. They had been married less than a year. They seemed happy and energetic. They were living an active life. Right away, though, we noticed certain things that didn't feel quite right. We rarely ever saw them together. They were always coming and going separately. They seemed to have very different interests and goals in life. Tonight, we saw a "For Sale" sign in their front yard. We haven't seen the husband around for several days. A mutual friend mentioned that things haven't been going well in their marriage. We assume that a divorce is in process and that's why the house must be sold. Years ago, I would have gobbled up the gossipy aspects of this story. What happened? Was someone cheating? Did they have a big fight? Give me the details. Now, I'm just saddened by it. Another marriage built on shifting sands has been blown over. Satan rejoices. It's disappointing. "Love never fails..." 1 Corinthians 13:8a You see, this marriage has likely failed because it wasn't based on love. Not God's love, anyway. They were living the typical American life and they quickly discovered that it wasn't making them happier. They needed to build around Christ. "But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world - how he can please his wife - and his interests are divided." 1 Corinthians 7:33-34a Now, this verse isn't suggesting that you should never get married. It's just pointing out that marriage is a difficult job. It's impossible if you have to choose between God and your immediate family. The only solution is to put God in your marriage so that you can glorify Him by building a holy relationship. If you don't have God in your marriage, invite Him in. If you do, pay attention to Him. If you're divided, get it rectified. Divided loyalties will tear you apart and the ending won't be pretty. Worshipping God by building a strong marriage and raising Godly children will bless you. It's the only way to make it really work. It's the way He designed it to work. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 1 21:47:49 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 1 Jul 2006 21:47:49 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Ignore the Math Message-ID: I have come to another conclusion. I can't help doing that as I get older. I just feel like I should before it's too late. See if this makes any sense: There is a big difference between being intuitive and being specific. My father was intuitive and thought that most people with degrees got so lost in the specifics of things that they missed the big picture. Once, there was a flood in the Big Thompson canyon in Colorado. The river had been revamped for water control purposes and, in doing so, the capacity was severely diminished. It seemed to have taken all of the engineers by surprise when the flood caused property damage and some loss of life. It didn't surprise Dad. To his thinking, it had nothing to do with math or engineering. It was much simpler. If the river cut the canyon, then it took a lot of water at one time. It stood to reason that some day, big water would come through again. The news came out with a report that stated the engineers didn't take into account that the weather cycles did not go back far enough to anticipate this condition. Dad just laughed and let out with his favorite phrase, "Give 'em another degree and let 'em hang it on the wall." He approached everything that way, and his logic was always stated with the preamble, "It doesn't take a college professor to figure out..." We need college professors, engineers, mathematicians, and the rest as the world wouldn't progress very far without them. But, we need people like Dad, too. They see the principles in a problem and reach conclusions more quickly while people who work from specifics often come to the same conclusions, but more slowly. It's that way with faith in God. It's the principle that brings you your faith, not the math. "They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." "Genesis 11:4 It doesn't take a college professor to figure out you ain't going to build a tower to heaven. I don't care what the math says. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 2 22:26:29 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 2 Jul 2006 22:26:29 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Insanity Message-ID: <80ADD9FE-2AE4-48D5-B6A3-0E21E8A9175D@clanwebb.com> "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." This quote has been attributed to Albert Einstein. It seems obvious on the surface and, yet, people don't seem to use this principle in real life very often. How many times will we repeat sinful behavior hoping it'll turn out different? The Israelites should certainly have known this. The book of Judges describes a fairly predictable cycle that the Israelites went through every couple of decades. They would stop worshipping God and start worshipping other gods and idols. God would get angry with them and arrange for them to live under the authority of another race of people who lived nearby. Then, the people would cry out for salvation to God. He would hear their cry and send a judge to lead them. This would lead them to freedom again and they would live under the leadership of this judge for a few years honoring God. The judge would die and the people would forget what the big deal was and start to forget God again. Two or three times around this cycle is kind of maddening. Why don't they get it? After a few more times, it's almost comical if the misery weren't so real. There are many lessons to be learned in reading about the trials of the Israelites during this time. I think the one that applies to us the most, though, is regarding the nature of God. God never gave up on Israel. He never failed to send someone to help. He never stopped loving those He had chosen. So much, in fact, that He finally sent someone to solve the problem of sin once and for all. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18a "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. There are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23 He is willing to forgive all of your sins. His compassion cannot be exhausted. Once you have been chosen by Him to be His child, you cannot be lost. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-40 You can't do anything so bad that He would give up on you. It's insanity to think He would ever act differently. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 4 00:18:08 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2006 00:18:08 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Freedom Message-ID: <3A7ED94A-A88D-4F70-A4CC-DA0C7E9F468F@clanwebb.com> July fourth is upon us and the email is flowing. One of my favorites stated that only two entities were willing to die for everyone in this country: Jesus Christ for your soul and the men and women of the armed services for your earthly freedom. The challenge is that most people in this country think freedom means, "It's all about me!" They feel they can do what they want when they want in any fashion they want to do it. They're looking for more freedom from the oppression of the "Thou shall not"s. God sets us free to voluntarily agree to obedience. We get to choose our master. We don't get to choose to be the master. "Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God." 1 Peter 2:16 "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13 If you know Jesus you are a free man. Just remember that gravity allows you to be free to fall, also. However, it doesn't restore you. You just become a big, flat mass on the pavement. Happy Fourth! Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 5 00:22:00 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 00:22:00 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Push On or Turn Back? Message-ID: <2FA99B08-4F06-484E-B94E-19C59F6159EB@clanwebb.com> Sometimes, I'm just not clear on what He's trying to say to me. Where I start to lose track is when I'm trying to discern the difference between a tough spot that He wants me to move through and a closed door that should cause me to change direction. Let me give you some real life analogies to make my point. When hiking with my dad, it was not uncommon for us to be unsure about where the trail went. When you get into thick forest, there's places with no undergrowth. So, it can be hard to see whether it's the trail or just a coincidental flat space between the trees. When we'd come to some thicker growth or more tightly packed trees, we'd have to decide if it was just overgrown or whether we'd taken a wrong turn. When it became downright impassable, we knew we needed to go back. This last couple of weeks, I've been jogging more. After about the third time, my knees were a little sore. This was my decision point. Did it mean I shouldn't be jogging? Or did it simply mean I was out of shape and needed to push through it? I ran once more yesterday and ended up limping home. Only after some painkillers and ice could I even walk around the house much. They're still sore today. I've now decided that I was wrong. This isn't something to push through. This is the wrong way. I need to find another path. How can you tell the difference in your life? When do you push on and when do you change direction? This is a tough call, but I think it has to do with who you follow. Take Paul's example: "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." Acts 16:6-7 Paul knew that God's will was that he spread the gospel. However, God clearly closed two areas of the world to him. Paul could have just stopped and decided to wait until God would let him into those areas. Paul could have decided that he had misinterpreted God and started praying for a new path. Instead, Paul just kept trying new directions until God sent him to Macedonia. He would go on to help found a strong church in Philippi. The key here was that Paul never stopped following God. Where we get in trouble is when we take a piece of God's leading and add our own plans to it. If God has given you dreams and hopes for a destination in life, don't decide how it will come about. Keep working toward them, but if He leads you a different direction, follow willingly. Don't give up. Don't shut down the rest of your life and wait. Just keep following His lead. Take the opportunities He offers. Serve Him in any way you can find. Find your joy in being His bondservant. He'll bring you back around. He'll lead you to the dreams He's planted in your head. "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." " 1 Corinthians 2:9 Just remember: He knows what He's doing. Follow Him. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 5 23:50:21 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 23:50:21 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Know Your Part Message-ID: Do you often find that your routine of life is just plain out of the mainstream with God? Sometimes I look at my life and think, "How in the world does getting up, going to work, coming home, going through an evening routine, and then doing it all over again the next day begin to compare with what I ought to be doing for God? Where is my noble calling?" I often look at people that are working at, as well as in, the faith as being the A team and I'm just a guy that shows up for tryouts from time to time. We give (probably not enough) money and time, but we never get to carry the flag or march in the parade. Jesus spoke about this in Mark when He had just done something spectacular. The Lord had just freed a man from demon possession. Out of gratefulness and thankfulness, the man said that he wanted to go with Jesus and become part of the team, march in the parade, and be associated with Jesus personally. "As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon- possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed." Mark 5:18-20 What would the world be like if we just did that much? How big of a parade would it start? Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 6 22:55:14 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 22:55:14 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Bozo or Boaz? Message-ID: For years and years, men have misused the Scripture that defines the roles of husband and wife to exert power. They do this while overlooking their own responsibilities to their wives that is just a verse or two away. It's always easy to remember the commandments God directs at other people. It's much harder to remember those directed at yourself. Furthermore, we should treat every woman with respect and caring because she is either someone's wife or may become a wife. You represent male behavior in moments like that and there's no reason to make it tougher on the current husband or husband-to-be. I don't know how many times I've been watching a movie with my wife when a man does something mean or terrible to a woman. She'll turn and slap me on the arm and call me a jerk! I've stopped watching those kind of movies with her. I think we all have the opportunity to be a bozo or a Boaz. I'm referring to the man we learn about in the book of Ruth who took in and cared for the widow of a relative even though he didn't have to. He made sure she had enough to eat and that she was safe working in his fields. He went above and beyond for her. "So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." Ruth 2:8-9 Even when she showed a desire to marry him, he didn't take advantage of her. He followed the law and made sure other relatives that should have that opportunity first were given that chance. Ruth's mother-in- law, Naomi, knew what kind of man Boaz was. "Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." " Ruth 2:18 He was a perfect gentleman. Do you go above and beyond for the women around you? Do you even do it for your wife? "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25 Yep. That one's directed at you. If you aren't married, then practice this kind of love on the women around you. They deserve it, too. Don't be a bozo. Be a Boaz. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 7 22:43:32 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 22:43:32 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Watch Your Steps Message-ID: <1F4522DF-E6FC-4B4A-BA20-24D2EE272762@clanwebb.com> Terminally enthusiastic people drive me nuts. They think that, by pure force of smiling on the deck of a sinking ship, they can turn things around. Now, it can be said that I can be pretty harsh in the face of realism and many have even called me negative. On the other hand, as long as there is something to do about a situation, I can stand tall with the best of them. But, there does come a time to abandon the ship and cut your losses. The difference is knowledge. The smarter you are, the less chance you will get on a leaky boat in the first place. God tells us to embrace knowledge. It's why He invented the capacity. "Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries his footsteps errs." Proverbs 19:2 Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 8 22:40:02 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2006 22:40:02 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Revealing Fire Message-ID: <20086CD3-FD51-48FC-BB5C-E57EAA2AA2FB@clanwebb.com> From time to time, I do a little woodworking to relax. I like the idea of creating something from raw materials that I first constructed in my head. I'm not an artist, so the beauty comes from clean lines, good joints, and solid construction. When I'm working on a complex project, I always dread wasted work or wasted material. I hate it when I've spent half an hour doing intricate measurements and delicate cuts only to find I measured wrong, or I slip and cut too much. That piece of wood is usually useless after that. I have to set it aside and hope I might find some use for it in the future. I also have to hope that I have another piece that I can start over with. It's frustrating because I have nothing to show for the work I put in during that time. It's discouraging, because it has cost me time and money and I'm back where I started. Part of the reason I do woodwork, though, is to be alone and meditate on my project and, usually, my life. Today, as I was cutting with a jigsaw, I thought about whether I was heading down that same road with my life. Was I spending days and weeks doing intricate calculations and making precise moves to create and achieve things in my life that didn't mean anything to God? Would it have any value to Him? "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through flames." 1 Corinthians 3: 11-15 I would be devastated to see my home go up in flames. How much more devastating will it be if I see my the product of my life do the same in the presence of my Lord? There is value in doing good quality work. Just make sure you're building with the right materials. You need something that will survive His revealing fire. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 9 23:49:24 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 23:49:24 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Get Comfortable Message-ID: <6F862C3C-A188-4239-8357-2CB6063BD695@clanwebb.com> I feel like I'm repeating myself, but I'll say it anyway. The more I read the Word, the more I learn about God. The more depth and power He gives to guidance laid out for me. I've started reading the book of Ezra. This is the story of a handful of exiled Israelites, who were living in Babylon, making the trip back home to rebuild Jerusalem. There is a powerful parallel of their physical lives and the decision they had to make with our spiritual lives and a decision we have to make. So, imagine this entire race of people transplanted to Persia and having to make a new life. It's not what they wanted, but they make do. After some years, most are even settling in to a routine and find the life acceptable. Then a new king comes to power and in the first year, he turns their lives upside down. He announces that anyone who chooses can go back to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the city and the temple. Now, all of these people have to choose to either stay with the life they know or go back home and work hard. The number who actually chose to go was about 50,000. This was a small fraction of those who could go. "Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites - everyone whose heart God had moved - prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." Ezra 1:5 God moved the hearts of those he wanted to go. It's a small number, but they are the called ones. When called, they went. They disregarded routine and the perceived comfort of their lives. They went. We live in a modern day Babylon and it's exceedingly easy to be comfortable and routine about living here. The life offered here grabs and pulls at us. It drags us down and tells us to be comfortable. But then, God called you. Will you answer the call? "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." 1 Peter 2:11 Will you be comfortable and accept the offer of Babylon? Or will you go, be less comfortable, deny yourself the pleasures of this world and build the Lord's temple? You have to choose. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 11 00:10:16 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:10:16 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Recognize the Obvious Message-ID: It isn't unusual for God to be indirect. What I mean to say is that, often his message starts out as what appears to be outside of me and for someone else, and then like a great curve ball, it ends up in my strike zone. We had a guest give the sermon this past Sunday. The speaker was a young man from Haiti that was raised in an orphanage and, through God's grace, is here to study for the ministry. He apologized for any mistakes he might make in the language as his accent was fairly think, but his message couldn't have been clearer. Once again, I found myself looking at this man of God and wondering why he was chosen to have such a noble calling and my life seems to be a constant cycle of the everyday trials that could be avoided with a little forward thinking. I was prepared for a safe message, one that would apply to a broad scope of folks. I figured it would be something obvious in nature. Here came the curve ball. John the Baptist is in prison and he sends his boys over to Jesus to ask Him, "Say, partner, I don't mind sitting here in jail, but since I was the point of the spear of the whole operations, I just thought that you an dI would be in this together. Are you the guy we are waiting for or is there someone else?" I can relate to John, because I'm guilty of thinking, "Yo, partner, remember me?" Naturally, Jesus is the point. He's the reason and we can simply drift from the point. His answer was to the point, too. "So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." " Luke 7:22 In other words, "If you can't see the obvious and have to ask if I'm the guy, then a little time of self-examination will do you good." I really hate it when He does that to me. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 12 00:14:59 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:14:59 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Trust the Temporary Message-ID: <2E5EE580-7559-47C5-A28C-D21B607D5A76@clanwebb.com> Perspective has a powerful influence over our decisions. It's quite easy to be blinded by the excitement (or fear) of the moment and make profound decisions based on very small factors. It happens with children all over this country when they just insist on having the latest toy or game when it is at the height of popularity and at its peak price. A year or two later, that same item can be had for a buck at the neighbor's yard sale. Hard earned money was spent for something that had a rapidly declining value. People will choose to get married because of their current life situation. Two years later those issues have completely changed, but they still have to maintain a marriage. It's a mark of maturity when you can overlook the things that will pass and make decisions based on those things that will last and still be around for the long run. That's why we should save money for retirement and our children's education. It's why we should save up to buy a big ticket item rather than put it on the credit card. We should always be asking, "What are the long term effects?" Recognizing that we, as human beings, have a difficult time getting real perspective on life is a huge step toward understanding that we need to trust someone else. It can help to talk to other people, but ultimately, we need to trust God who has the best perspective of all. Moses understood the need to live according to the permanent things: "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Hebrews 11:24-26 He knew there was something bigger and better and learned to look beyond the temptations of what was right in front of him. We need to do that, too. Don't make life decisions based on the emotions of the moment. Think about what will pass away and what will be permanent. "You, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation." Lamentations 5:19 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Revelation 22:13 It doesn't get more permanent than that. Don't make decisions just based on what you see. Talk to God and read His Word. Use the permanent things of the universe to guide your life, not the temporary. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 12 23:03:21 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:03:21 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Trust an Enemy's Offer Message-ID: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' " Ronald Reagan I've always loved Reagan's wit and how he used it to speak the truth about the world. This quote sums up nicely his distrust of an unrestricted government. He felt the best way for a government to help was to get out of the way because someone else can do it better, cheaper, and more efficiently. That fundamental distrust should exist in all of us when it comes to people or institutions that don't always have our best interests at heart. When the neighbor who doesn't like you offers to build a fence between your homes, be worried. The property line is liable to get fudged. When the auto mechanic tells you he's not sure what's wrong, but he'll call you when it's fixed, get ready to write a big check. My wife and I have experienced this kind of a situation in regards to the fact that we homeschool. More than once, we've had letters from the local public school district offering help. They offer classes, teacher assistance, and sometimes even money to help us teach our child. Why the generosity? Because there's money and control in it for them. The goal of these programs is to deceptively change a student's status to being treated as a public school student. That, in turn, gives teachers and principals control over what is taught and how it's taught. Alternatively, the desire might be to spend one or two hours a week with a student, but make sure he shows up on the enrollment sheet so the school can collect more money from the state without having to fill a seat all week. Either way, the school rarely has my interests at heart. We've learned to turn down their offers. When the Israelites went back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, they were given a similar offer: "When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the head so of the families and said, "Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here." Ezra 4:1-2 Why would their enemies offer to help? Because they wanted to dilute the meaning of the temple. They wanted to worship God their own way in that temple. They didn't have the Israelites' best interests at heart. That's okay. The Israelites knew it and said, "no thanks." The enemies responded by showing their true colors and turning on the Israelites: "Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counselors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia." Ezra 4:4-5 Talk about a grudge! They hired people to discourage them for years and years. That's being dedicated to your feud. This story shows us, that that you can't trust an enemy that offers help without reconciliation. For us, that enemy is usually the world. The offers seem good, but can you trust them? Trust God. Stick with the one who has your best interests at heart. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 13 22:03:27 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:03:27 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Don't Settle For Second Best Message-ID: <95F7234F-81F1-429B-A716-BC47926B2C7F@clanwebb.com> "Someone once said that "second best is the worst enemy of the best." People have always tended to cling to the old, even when something far better is offered." Linda L. Belleville So it was with Jesus, the old way was just too hard to give up. We have to remember that Jesus passed the tests. All of them. The upgrade was obvious, but nobody wants to be second best. If there is someone better than Jesus, then let them step forward, show their credentials, their results, or their authority. Let them show anything other than their desire not to change. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 What part of your old life do you refuse to release? What is it that you retain just because you can't stand the idea that, after all these years, it was second best? Are you really giving something up? Or are you just making more room for something better? Make room for Jesus. Make all the room you can, because there is nothing in this world that is worth more. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 14 23:16:05 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 23:16:05 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Ultimate Trade Message-ID: <694978B4-CAFE-4248-B59A-54463BF2FD5C@clanwebb.com> Today, I was reading about the upcoming trading deadline in Major League Baseball. Most of the stories consist of predictions about which teams will likely be making a push for the playoffs and which ones will throw in the towel. Then come the predictions about the needs of those teams that are going for it and which players they should trade for. Then there are the stories about past trades and how they've turned out. These deadline deals often mean trading prospects or steady veterans for a star. At least, that's the plan. Often the value of some player is over-inflated or those prospects turn into all-stars later in life. There's always a debate about whether it was worth it. One writer made the point that sometimes it is worth it. Some teams don't get too many opportunities to get to the playoffs or the World Series. Sometimes it is still a good plan to make a lopsided trade to get the one piece you needed to win it all. As he put it, "After all, flags fly forever." His point being that winning a championship can have long lasting value for an organization that may be worth the loss of talent. It occurred to me that these writers were engaging in a value comparison study, but they weren't quite sure what the parameters were. Is it about always getting better than what you gave away? Is it about winning now? Where's the real value? I was obliquely reminded of Jesus' parable of the pearl: "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." Matthew 13:45-46 The point He's making is that once you've found Christ, all of your other possessions are much less valuable to you. You are happy to give them up to gain Christ. That's an easy trade to make. I wonder how many of us make that value comparison and aren't sure of what to compare? Are your car, TV, or other things more valuable to you than Christ? Would you trade them all if He asked you to? Would it be worth it to you? If you aren't sure of the answer, then I think you've overlooked the value. Christ is the only one that will put you over the top and punch your ticket for Heaven. Do you want to keep making safe trades so you can know that you're doing slightly better each year? Or, do you want to make the seemingly crazy trade of giving away those things that other people value more so you can fully experience Christ? This isn't about how rich you are or how many toys you have. It's about where they land on your priority list. Make sure that you are willing to let it all go if He asks. And, when He does ask, let it go. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 16 00:26:18 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:26:18 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Role Player Message-ID: <52F51C6B-A569-4161-8BE8-1C808BBD2505@clanwebb.com> My son and I were talking about a video game that he plays online. It involves playing with a team of medieval characters against another team. What makes it so fascinating is that your team can be made up of many different kinds of players with different kinds of abilities. The challenge is to build a team with all the right skills and powers that can fight any other combination that you might come up against. He was telling me that one of the problems they often have is that in the midst of battle, people on his team forget their roles. They start to argue with other team members or some will change the plan because they think the original one is failing. This kind of infighting almost always leads to a loss. He really wanted to build a team of players such that when the leader gave an order to attack or defend, everyone knew what to do. The key was in knowing your role and then following through with it. It struck me that much of the pain we endure in life is when we start arguing with God over His plan. We don't like the role we have and want to change the plan. We may even want to try to change roles. It rarely ends well. King David recognized where he fit in God's plan. He was told as a child that he would become king, but it didn't happen immediately. At any point he could have tried to raise an army and challenge the authority of King Saul, but he didn't. He knew that God had placed Saul on the throne and he needed to wait for God to remove Saul. David not only waited, but he was hunted and threatened for quite a while. He never challenged God's plan or his own role in that plan. He just survived until God called on him to be king. John the Baptist understood this quite well, too. When his disciples complained that more people were following Jesus, John answered: "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:29-30 Are you struggling against the role God has set out for you? Are you arguing with His battle plan? You know, we all have a better chance of success if you are a team player. "But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body." 1 Corinthians 12:18-20 Play your part. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 16 22:17:09 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:17:09 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Know When to Rest Message-ID: <7D9A1D81-CD5A-49F5-B10A-994A13806DA2@clanwebb.com> Yesterday was one of those days... It started out to be a day of rest, a day when I was just going to stay at home with my family. My daughter had driven over from eastern Washington and the weather was grand. Then everybody, their brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins decided that they wanted to look at houses and the phone began to ring off the hook. I left home an didn't return until 10:30 in the evening. I am in a service-based business, so I have to be ready to be respond and give fresh service to every new face that comes my way. During the day, my cell phone went dead from overuse. The car charger decided not to charge. The company computer system decided to knock off early and I called home and managed to hurt my wife's feelings. I don't know if God will bring any business my way out of showing twenty-one houses, but the one thing I know is that it is up to Him and not me. I thought I started out to do the right thing. I thought I was doing the right thing all day. Now, I am not so sure what yesterday was all about. It could be an answer to prayer or a generator of prayer. "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." " Mark 6:31 Please tell me there are no cell phones in Heaven. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 18 00:14:23 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:14:23 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Wars and Relationships Message-ID: I've been reading the news with more interest lately as this conflagration with Israel and a bunch of terrorists heats up. With the frame of reference we have from 9/11 until today, there are many similarities in how to deal with the adversary. There are the primary requirements of any sane government that action by the military must be in defense of national interests or the interests of allies. When terms of peace are discussed, the nation in question must seek concessions by the enemy. There is no value in giving something for nothing. And even then, you must make sure that the concessions are of real value to your own interests. In Ronald Reagan's words, "Trust, but verify." These are very selfish attitudes, but that's because they involve countries and governments. Diplomacy between nations is very different than between individuals. Unfortunately, many around the world confuse the two. They believe that the way to solve problems between nations is the same way you solve problems between people. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way. Using those principles I mentioned above can make you a successful diplomat, but try the same thing at home and you'll be a failure as a husband. When it comes to relationships between people, Jesus had a very different approach. So much so, that it was even radical when compared to what the religious leaders of the day had been saying. It's still radical today when compared to how the world tells us to act. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Matthew 5:43-45 Love 'em all. Let God sort 'em out. "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you." Proverbs 25:21-22 Feeding your enemy is a terrible plan when leading an army. It's God's plan when dealing with someone who just doesn't like you. Men are built to be warriors. We have the natural inclination to stand our ground and demand fairness. Just be careful not to use those skills on your wife or other relationships. You need to love, give, and pray for those folks. You can't convince someone else to open up if you are holding back. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 19 00:43:31 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:43:31 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Moot Point Message-ID: I get a chuckle when I see people seriously debating situations that will never occur. This happens to me quite a bit as my circle of friends includes quite a few geeky types who love to debate the feasibility of science fiction and comic books. I myself have been known to discuss how the Enterprise could have used the transporter more to their advantage in several episodes. I've seen people adamantly defend their position on what would happen if you ejected a person out of the airlock while going at warp speed. Heck, I've even complained that a comic book character was not translated to a live-action movie well because he clearly would have used his superpower in a different way. This is somewhat similar to sports nuts arguing over whether the '27 Yankees would have been able to beat the Big Red Machine. Or, would Joe Montana's 49ers have been able to defeat the Steel Curtain? These are all moot because they are based on a false or impossible premise. There is no Enterprise and there are no transporters. There are no superheroes with superpowers. There is no way to have teams from different time periods play each other. It's just not possible. I get the very same effect when I hear people discussing what you have to do to get to Heaven. When folks argue over just how much you have to donate or how many good works you have to do, it's the same problem. It's all based on an impossible premise. They start out with the idea that you can earn your way in. Don't ever fall into that trap. Your salvation is a gift. You didn't earn any of it. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 You'll go nuts trying to figure out how to earn God's favor. You can't do it. You can only accept His love and realize it's a gift. Others will know you are saved by how you love, but don't think that's what punched your ticket. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Jul 19 22:30:01 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 22:30:01 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Cliffhanger Message-ID: <3128E480-226B-47EF-8C22-B4D7D5B2B5B9@clanwebb.com> Cliffhanger was a term we used a lot in my youth. On application had to do with what was known as a serial. These were movies or radio plays that were offered in installments and typically each episode ended with a piece of action that left the viewer or listener wondering what was going to happen next. In other words, it left you hanging. Many times I saw an episode end with the cowboy hero heading off of the mountain in a runaway wagon only to come back next week to see him jump out of the darn thing before it went over the edge. The same idea can be said about accepting Jesus Christ. You may still be headed over the cliff in the wagon, but just in the nick of time, you are saved. Episode after episode in my life, God has made a diving catch and the whole situation comes to a completely different conclusion than I anticipated. He can turn events around in mere seconds. "When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand." Psalm 37:24 Stay tuned for next week's exciting adventure. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 21 00:01:45 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:01:45 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Choice Message-ID: <138EBF0D-973B-4BA9-80D3-15CE98A2315A@clanwebb.com> How much of your life do you go through being led by other people or the expectations of others or even just habit? Do you avoid topics of conversation because they might make you look like an outsider? Do you skip church to watch football because all of your buddies are? Do you put a buck in the offering plate once a week, but spend four bucks every day on coffee? Why? Because it's "normal"? We do it because it's easier to fit in than to stand out. The big lie that we let ourselves believe is that it's just life. It's just the way things are. Guess what? You have a choice. You can choose to merge with the herd and act like everyone else, or you can choose another way. "I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws." Psalm 119:30 You won't be popular, in fact you might lose friends. You'll have to read about the game and you might have to skip coffee once in a while, but you will have chosen to do that. You can choose to be righteous. Read the Word to find out how. Pray about it to keep on track. Most of all, make the choice. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 22 00:13:27 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:13:27 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Choose the Highway Message-ID: I used to think that some people were just cursed. I never quite understood what was going on, but you'd see these people on the news or in an article that seemed to have had ten times the normal amount of bad stuff in their life. The ones the really drove me mad, though, were the ones that would be living off of Social Security and food stamps and looked fairly normal. Then they'd tell you that they have three different diseases, they have a bad back or a bad leg, and suffer from depression. For all of these reasons, they couldn't work and needed to depend on the government to pay for their mountain of prescriptions and cable TV. You usually see stories like this when a politician starts talking about cutting taxes. We're supposed to feel guilty enough to fight against any kind of tax relief. As I got older, I realized that there's some portion of these folks that are stretching the truth a bit because it's an easier life. They can sit and complain about the world, they can claim that they'd be right in the thick of things if it weren't for their terribly bad luck, and they don't have to work that hard to get by. Sometimes, these folks can become self-fulfilling prophecies. People can subconsciously sabotage any chances for success in life because, deep down, they really don't want their situation to change. They start to see problems around every corner and want to just stop trying. Turns out I had spotted something that God knows all about already. People do it with their spiritual life just as much as with their physical life. "The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway." Proverbs 15:19 "The sluggard says, "There is a lion outside!" or, "I will be murdered in the streets!" " Proverbs 22:13 You have to want to follow Christ. You have to want to follow through with His commands. You can't beg off for lame excuses. He knows your heart. Find the highway. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 23 00:09:49 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:09:49 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] When Nobody's Watching Message-ID: <2AC67D68-AF58-4618-A01D-6A948C2B0A39@clanwebb.com> Imagine you are sitting at a traffic light in the left hand turn lane. The lane is clearly marked with an arrow on the pavement and the light above has the traditional red, yellow, and green lights. At the bottom of the light is an arrow pointing left which is illuminated red. There's absolutely nobody in sight. You are late to an appointment. The letter of the law tells you one thing and the spirit of the law is obvious. The letter of the law says, "Buddy, you keep your rear end right where you are until told to do otherwise." The spirit of the law says, "Friend, we went to all this trouble so that when two or more of you folks meet at this spot at the same time, you will know what to do." Did I mention that you're all alone with nobody in sight? In your heart, which of these choices kicks in? Is it the letter of the law or the spirit? After all, who's it going to harm just this once? What if you read your Bible the same way? "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19 We are never truly alone, are we? Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Jul 23 21:53:42 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:53:42 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Be Transformed Message-ID: <540936EA-71D5-44CA-885F-F66D1958D6B3@clanwebb.com> Foundries are great "guy" places. They're dirty, hot, full of stuff that has gears, and best of all, molten metal. The one where I worked had real history. It had produced Liberty ship and tank parts during WWII. I loved the smell of the place and most of the guys were as crusty as last week's bread. We poured non-ferrous metals. That means no iron or steel, just copper-based metals and aluminum. Bronze is a romantic metal. It even has a whole age named after it. There are several types of bronze, but they are all about 88% copper. Now, copper is pretty soft as metals go, but it undergoes a miraculous transformation when you add just a pinch of another element. One of my favorites was nickel aluminum bronze. It was amazing what just a little of these two elements would do to copper. It could turn soft copper into something tougher than your old man after you backed his new car over his new riding lawnmower. In short, it was a complete transformation. Most of us are born with a copper faith. We put on a good front and look tough until something comes along and knocks us off our pins. Then Jesus adds a pinch of endurance and somehow we get up and brush ourselves off. If we would just learn to stay in the Word and ingest the elements of the Word, we would be transformed. "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23 Remember this when the sledge hammer to the chest catches you off-guard. "so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" 1 Peter 1:7 Go ahead. Become a crusty, old Christian. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 25 00:09:54 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:09:54 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Jesus Who? Message-ID: <703BD0A7-A82C-4067-9C41-27F39839F9B1@clanwebb.com> Most of the world accepts the fact that Jesus really did live on the earth and He did have a following. But, if you were to ask twenty- five people at random who He was, you would likely get a variety of answers. Depending on who you ask, He was an influential teacher, a religious leader, a social reformer, a charlatan, the spiritual Son of God, the Father of the Christian faith and, my all time favorite from the Indian mystic that almost took over eastern Oregon, "A flute upon God's lips." Making Jesus fit into the modern age is a full time occupation for some people. Earl Doherty holds that Christianity began with a mythical Christ. He argues that the diffuse undercurrent of religious thought called early Christianity can be shown to be a plausible descendant or cousin of Jewish mystical speculation on the scriptures (found in such writings at the Odes of Solomon, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Philo of Alexandria) and was probably well-received by those converts to early Christianity who were influenced by Platonism and Hellenistic soteriological ideas of the day. (According to my spelling checker, this guy makes up words) John Dominic Crossan speculates that the historical Jesus proves to be a displaced Galilean peasant artisan who had become fed up with the situation and went about preaching a radical message: an egalitarian vision of the Kingdom of God present on earth and available to all as manifested in the acts of Jesus in healing the sick and practicing an open commensality in which all were invited to share. (Again, according to my spelling checker, this guy can't spell, either) Some of these guys are the greatest cure of insomnia on the planet. They wouldn't know Jesus unless He was the head of their department and held the power of tenure, submission for publication, granting sabbatical, or the corner office with its own parking space. Jesus (God, the Son) has existed from eternity with God, the Father, and God, the Holy Spirit. "In the beginning was the Word [Jesus] and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God [...] and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." John 1:1,14 Jesus made reference to His pre-earth existence: "Father, glorify me with the glory I had with thee before the world was." John 17:5 Right now, Jesus is in Heaven with the Father just as He was before creation. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Jul 25 23:53:50 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:53:50 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] It's Not Yours Message-ID: <2D92F6F4-7636-483D-9272-BCDAD31A784E@clanwebb.com> "He who dies with the most toys, wins." I'm sure you've seen this on a T-shirt or bumper sticker at some point. It's a pretty good summary of the measure of success the world uses and proclaims to us every day. Accumulating wealth, possessions, and power is the goal of life that the world wants us to have. Now, it's clear that such a goal is not only wrong, but actually dangerous to our spiritual life. This doesn't mean that being a Christian means you have to be poor. It means that you can't let your financial situation be your ultimate goal in life. Material wealth is a means to an end, not the end itself. God may choose to bless you with material wealth as a test. Just remember that nothing you have is yours. It's all God's: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" Psalm 24:1 That house? God's. That car? God's. That TV? God's. Your bank account? God's. He's loaned you all of these things to see how you'll handle it. This is called stewardship. You are responsible for God's possessions and must treat them as such. It's a test to see what you can handle when it comes to the real riches of spiritual wealth. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" Luke 16:10-12 Remember, that the wealth and possessions are God's and you need to continue serving God. Don't get caught up craving money as then you become a slave to it. Don't tell yourself that you can have it both ways, either: "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13 It's not yours. Just take good care of it until the Owner comes to reclaim it. And, most of all, don't forget about the Owner. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Jul 27 00:18:57 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 00:18:57 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Stop Blending In Message-ID: During my very short time in ROTC boot camp, I learned one lesson very quickly. You didn't want to attract the attention of any of the drill sergeants. Their attention usually led to extra push-ups or laps. So, it became better to just blend in and do what everyone else did. I can even remember times when we were learning how to march and listening to sergeant call out marching orders. If the guy in front of me did the wrong thing, I would tend to follow him rather than do what I thought was the right thing. I was so concerned about standing out and possibly making a mistake, that I figured it was better to be yelled at as a group when we all went the wrong way rather then ridiculed as an individual. This is a strong human trait. We tend to stick with the herd for perceived safety. If the head of the herd is running towards a cliff, it doesn't matter. We feel safe in the middle of a crowd. It's a false perception. There is no safety in doing what everyone else does. There's acceptance from the rest of the herd, but that's it. That and three bucks will buy you a latte. There's a great story in the book of Daniel about three guys who didn't mind standing out. Even though they knew the consequences of their actions would probably be death. They did it anyway. When King Nebuchadnezzar furiously demanded that these three friends bow down and worship the statue the King had just built, they responded clearly: "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18 That took guts. They knew God could save them, but they weren't sure that He would. Regardless, they knew that they had to follow God's law first and refuse to worship an idol. Suddenly, being afraid to stand out because you might get laughed at or excluded from a party doesn't seem that bad. In America, nobody is going to kill you for being a Christian. Stand up, stand out, and be a man of God. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Jul 28 00:01:47 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 00:01:47 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Learn the Rules Message-ID: Same game, different rules. When you played hide-and-seek with your friends, you knew the rules. But, when you went to some other kid's house, they would have different rules. That was part of the fun as long as you knew the new rules. It wasn't any fun when you are playing by one set of rules and the other guy is using another set of rules. The fun simply goes out of the game and it usually ended up with hard feelings. What are the rules? When you become serious about a game the first thing you do is get the rules right. You look for the authority, then you play the game by the rules if you want to be successful. What are the rules of God? The answer is in one word: seek. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Luke 11:9 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6 If you don't seek out the authority, there will come a time when the rules will change and you will be playing at the other guy's house. "During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them." Revelation 9:6 Then the rules become very clear. But, by that time, it's too late to play the game. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 29 00:25:13 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:25:13 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Other Shoe Message-ID: <9E469422-1AFE-4137-9555-1A44765469C6@clanwebb.com> I love how God teaches me a little bit more each day. I love it for a few reasons. I love the fact that I get to learn more about how I'm supposed to live and I learn more truths about how life works. It's also validation, though. The fact that He's showing me something new tells me that my relationship with HIm is working. That's encouraging, too. Today, He led me to a truth that hadn't occurred to me before, but seems logical in retrospect. Furthermore, He led me there on a path that I never thought I'd be on. You see, I consider myself an optimist. I'm always looking for the good news. If there isn't any, I'm looking for the escape route. I'm not one to dwell on setbacks or wallow in self-pity. However, I got to a place this week that was new to me. All aspects of my life have been going fairly well and fairly smoothly. As a matter of fact, it's been going on that way long enough that I was actually developing a latent worry about when it might end. So, here I was, the optimist, enjoying blessings from God, but worrying about some undefined bump in the road that I had no evidence was coming. Then I read this: "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1 There's more in James: "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14 I've read these over and over in the past. They always seemed to be telling me not to place confidence in my own abilities or plans. But, today, they told me that there's no reason to spend time worrying. I can't plan for the unexpected. I can be prepared, but I can't be actively planning a counterattack when nobody has attacked me yet. What I heard from God was, "Enjoy it. Don't spoil it by worrying about when it will end." Often I write about what the Bible says to do when things are going wrong. Oddly enough, I learned a lesson today about what to do when things are going right. God will bless you. When He does, soak it up and give thanks. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Jul 29 22:10:23 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 22:10:23 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Opinion and Power Message-ID: "Power rules the world, not opinion, but it is opinion that exploits power." Pascal This statement is certainly true when it comes to the world. When someone is in power or rises to power, it is opinion that keeps him there. In the United States, we express our opinion with our vote and we can change who is in power. On the other hand, there are many places where once someone attains power and controls opinion, they don't have to worry about what anybody thinks. If someone disagrees, they just have them jailed or killed. There has never been anybody on earth with more power than Jesus Christ. He displayed power over every aspect of creation, including death. Why doesn't He use His power to sway our opinion? Because, in the end, that is a false power. What good is it to have control if you have to surround yourself with protection from dissension? It doesn't affect Jesus' power if someone doesn't agree with Him. He has nothing to prove to any living human being. It is up to each individual to agree or disagree. He can't be overthrown or voted out of office. He is the standard by which all power should be judged. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," Phillipians 3:10 All in favor say, "Aye". Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Jul 31 00:27:43 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:27:43 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] The Diode of Life Message-ID: <37D43BD7-9364-4D3B-AA7B-142AB4C5AB09@clanwebb.com> When I first started learning about electronics in high school, I was introduced to the world of resistors, capacitors, inductors, and a unique item called a diode. You see diodes every day as one form of diode is the light emitting diode or LED. All those little red, green, yellow, and blue lights on your cell phone, DVD player, and microwave clock are diodes. What makes diodes interesting is that their purpose in life is to let current flow through one direction, but not another. Basically, it's a one-way street for electric current. This can be useful in many ways. Most other components will work when current flows in either direction, but the diode does not. The diode came to mind as I considered all of the things we gain and lose in life. Many of those things can go both directions. We can gain and lose wealth. We can gain and lose power. Our life can go back and forth along the circuit from challenging to blessed. God doesn't guarantee any of these things to us. As a matter of fact, He warns us not to depend on them: "Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." Proverbs 23:5 "When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes; all he expected from his power comes to nothing." Proverbs 11:7 The one thing that you can lose, but cannot gain back is time. Time flows like current through a diode. Once it's gone through, it can't go back. Time will catch up to the most wealthy and most powerful people on the planet. It has never failed to catch them and I don't see it stopping now. God warns us about that, too: "[...] I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2 Here He's speaking about getting saved, but the principle is true for all aspects of your spiritual life. Time is getting shorter, not longer. You only have so much time here and you don't even know how long that is. Whether it's getting saved or following Christ in earnest, the time is now. Don't find yourself thinking, "I wish I had more time." Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Jul 31 23:28:12 2006 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:28:12 -0700 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Justice for the Poor Message-ID: I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. Each day that I read about the conflict in Lebanon, I am shocked by the refusal to point out the righteous and unrighteous in the fight. One side is made up of fanatics who believe that the enemy does not have the right to live. They use civilians as human shields and then use the deaths of those civilians as propaganda when they are killed. They hide behind UN stations. They do not wear uniforms. They fire weapons indiscriminately into civilian areas for the express purpose of killing as many innocents as possible. The other side is made up of an organized military force that is attempting to prevent attacks into their homeland. They would happily stay within their own borders if the enemy would stop insisting on killing and kidnapping whenever they feel like it. This side drops leaflets warning civilians that their town is about to be bombed (giving the enemy warning and reducing the effectiveness of the bombing for humanitarian reasons). This side goes out of its way to avoid civilian casualties and apologizes profusely when they happen. "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." Proverbs 29:7 Now, who appears to care about the poor? Who seems to be at least attempting to be righteous? It doesn't seem that hard to see from my point of view. The world would rather tell us that there's no difference. God says otherwise. Wyatt