From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 1 21:31:53 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Feb 1 21:33:14 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] He Is Message-ID: <24B1C23F-ACC1-475F-9DA6-CA33C786869C@clanwebb.com> During our class last night, we came to the point in the discussion where we were to talk about "Who is God?". This is an important point for the Christian to get set in his mind as it will be the question the non-believer will ask eventually. I must admit to a prejudice at this point as I feel one of the looming challenges to the non- believer is that there are too many believers who are lofty thinkers. Too much dissection, explanation, contemplation, and publication must delight Satan. Too many of the published definitions include attributes or character traits of God, but miss the obvious. I don't care where you are coming from, but a basic discussion of this question must always end with the point of who or what was here always. You can't make something out of nothing and matter without intelligence can't motivate itself to produce. So, whatever one believes, that which is the eternal intelligence must be God. The next logical progression, then, is, "Can we know God and His attributes?". I don't feel you can mix the two, nor should you go forward until you have an understanding in your own mind to the basic question. The Christian must fix in his mind that going backwards from God is impossible. To further compound the challenge is that no physical law applies to God as He has no limitations. Without acceptance of this premise, one starts down the eternal rabbit trail of "Can God do this or that?", "Does God work this way or that?", "Is God here or there?", or "Why does God do what He does the way He does?". The Christian is not a "why" person. The Christian is an "is" person. We are an "is" people because of our faith and unapologetically so! "God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. "I AM has sent me to you." " Exodus 3:14 Look at the results of the spirit world upon the physical world. Don't try to peer into the spiritual world. We'll be there in the end. The opinion expressed above is that of the author and, if they are in contradiction to anyone wiser ? and there are many ? let's talk about it. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 2 22:03:27 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Feb 2 22:03:41 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Let It Fly Away Message-ID: <0F4921BB-6D2E-487E-B33E-3648FFBCC274@clanwebb.com> Give a teddy bear to a young child and he will likely take it and smile. Give him two teddy bears and he'll hug them close and maybe even say, "Thank you." Now, take one bear back and that child will be sad or angry. When my son was younger, he wanted to play with me as much as possible, which I loved. What made it tough to do, though, was that no matter how long we played or what games we enjoyed, he was always angry at me when it was time to be done. He always felt that I was taking something away. This same feeling occurred with a coworker of mine at a previous job. We were all given bonuses as a reward for a project well done. They were a little larger than we expected, so we were all happy. One fellow, though, wasn't aware that the bonus check would be taxed at a different rate than his paycheck. He was somewhat surprised when he saw the final amount. He was angry at this perceived loss of income. What I'm describing here is the human nature to assume (incorrectly) that everything that appears to be in your possession or under your control is, in fact, yours. In each of these scenarios I've described, the angry person had more or had received something of value at the end of the story. However, he had gone from being content to angry. All because it seemed like something had been taken away. The fact that there was a net gain is lost in the emotion of the perceived loss. I still have twinges of this feeling when I start doing my taxes. I get frustrated with all the money the government takes to do things I don't want them to do. I have to remember, though, that I'm still enjoying a net gain from the blessings of God. If I went back to the beginning of my story, I'd have nothing. "[...] Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21 Notice here the distinct lack of the phrase "and keep what is yours". "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalm 24:1-2 It's not ours in any way, shape, or form. It is God's. So, when you see the money going away, don't be angry. It wasn't yours anyway. Be blessed by what God has granted you to have. Be thankful because before you knew Him, you had much, much less. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 3 20:05:40 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Feb 3 20:05:55 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] No Observers Message-ID: " "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. " Ezekiel 33:30-32 Does this sound familiar? Have you ever seen a people who appear to appreciate God's Word being taught, but are, in fact, just admiring the performance and not the message? This scripture jumped off the page at me when I read it. This precisely describes so much of American Christianity. People love to go hear a powerful message. They love to hear good music. They even join in and get caught up in the moment. But, when they walk out the door, they act as if they just saw a good movie or enjoyed a well- performed play. They will talk about their favorite parts and even get excited about coming again next week. But the reality went over their heads. Nothing in their life between Sundays changes. God's Word is direction to you on how to be saved and how to serve Him. He did not write Scripture, send Christ, build the Church, and raise up your pastor to put on a good show. He did all these things because He loves you and has a plan for you. He's just trying to get the message through. But, so many would just rather sit back and watch. Don't be an observer. Be part of the reality going on around you. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22 C'mon, let's be doers of the Word. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 4 21:34:44 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Feb 4 21:35:01 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Commit to the Lord Message-ID: Whatever team you were rooting for, you had to be excited about the end of the Super Bowl. It was a good game, but I'm not talking about the final score or who the winner was. I'm talking about the glory given to God at the earliest opportunity by those involved. When the championship trophy was presented to the owner of the Colts, he quickly thanked God and gave Him the glory for their victory. When the coach spoke, he was asked about the importance of being the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. He politely agreed that it was an honor to be the first, but he followed up by saying he was more proud of the fact that he and the opposing coach had proved that you could be a Christian and put God first and still succeed at the highest level of professional sports. I think that was a powerful message to all of those players and coaches-to-be. I've heard over and over how the only way to succeed at that level is to live and breath your sport all day, every day, all year long. You hear stories about coaches sleeping in their office, reviewing film at all hours, and never seeing their family. It takes a toll on their health, their relationships, and their lives. When football becomes the idol, your life is heading the wrong way. Alternatively, I read that the coach of the Colts had been out at the mall with his family the night before the AFC championship game two weeks ago. He had a life. He had relationships. Most of all, he had a relationship with God. Football is a job that he loves, but it's not his life. He figured it out. "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 If you're working all out and not succeeding, I submit that working harder isn't likely to solve the problem. Try committing your work to the Lord and making sure you haven't placed something else on your altar. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 5 22:56:04 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Feb 5 22:56:26 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Believe Reality Message-ID: <10E595D7-0301-469D-B014-C87706194723@clanwebb.com> I remember back in college when two great icons of television started. Star Trek and Sesame Street captured our imaginations and both shows opened new doors for creativity. One dealt with the future and the other with current society from a child's point of view. Both gave a certain comfort level to the viewer on how we saw mankind. Many viewers became reliant on the ideas portrayed in these shows as more than just entertainment. It was as if Star Trek allowed children to continue the trip from Big Bird and Cookie Monster to Spock and Kirk. Our imaginations really took flight and, today, the special effects in entertainment can be enough to make it difficult to discern between fantasy and reality. We are now at a point where what we once thought was impossible appears over and over as entirely plausible. Hence the idea that, "Whatever the mind of man can first conceive then believe he can achieve." A purely deceptive philosophy. Why is it that we will buy into what is made up by the mind of man, but not that which is made by the living God? "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Corinthians 13:11 Therefore, when we make the decision to accept that God is spirit, we move from the realm of puppets and the blue screen to the reality of the universe we live in. There is an "out there" realm, but Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas had nothing to do with its creation. To know God is to accept the fact that God cannot be represented by anything the mind of man can conceive. In fact, it is forbidden to even try. "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth or in the waters below." Exodus 20:3-4 If you want to see God, you must know Jesus because He is how God chose to reveal Himself. "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Colossians 1:15 Christ is the real bridge form the physical to the spiritual; from the seen to the unseen. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 6 22:05:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Feb 6 22:05:52 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Get Pumped Message-ID: Can you think of a time when you really wanted a policeman to drive up? Maybe it was when somebody ran a red light in front of you. Maybe it was when you saw someone shoplifting. Maybe it was just because you wanted some authority figure to show up and scare off the neighborhood teenagers. Now, can you think of a time when you were really hoping a policeman didn't show up? Maybe it was when you accidently blew through a stop sign. Maybe it was when you made a quick stop and parked in the handicapped spot. Maybe it was just when you were snooping around the neighbor's backyard. Notice how in the first case you were desiring strict justice? Notice how in the second case you were hoping for a pass? We don't desire strict justice all the time because we know that it will work in our favor sometimes and against us at other times. True justice, after all, is fair and we are biased. "Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity." Psalm 98:8-9 Woo hoo! Aren't you excited? Are you on the edge of your seat waiting for the Lord to come judge the world? Hmm, that makes you think a bit. Are you really ready for Him to come judge you? There's the twist. I'm absolutely ready because when He comes to judge me, He will see Jesus and judge me righteous. I can be excited and look forward to when He comes to judge because I already know the outcome. It's nothing I've done which is why I have complete confidence in it. If I was depending on my own track record, I'd be scared to death. That's why I'm depending on Christ. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Feb 7 22:25:29 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Feb 7 22:25:50 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] First Message-ID: <2115AD1C-F19B-45F2-9894-C66A3A702433@clanwebb.com> In sports, it is a good thing to be the first one to do something. It is a sign of accomplishment and ability. Roger Bannister is famous for being the first to run a mile in less than four minutes. Jackie Robinson is famous for being the first black player in Major League Baseball. Babe Ruth was the first to hit 60 home runs. Mark McGwire was the first to 70. In relationships, we all seem to function as if being first has too much risk for the possible reward. We tend to wait to see what the other person will do and react. We don't want to look foolish. We don't want to be exposed and get hurt. "We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 It is human nature to only love those who have loved us first. Christ loved us first, so once we figured that out, it was only logical to love Him. However, Christ has also called us to love like Him. He wants us to learn to love first when dealing with those around us. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 Wait, it gets better. "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44 Not only should we love first, but we should love those who are actively working against us! That's a stretch! But, in fact, that's exactly what Christ did when He was on earth and what He's doing this very moment. So, be the one to love unconditionally. Be the one to start the relationship. Be the one that shows someone what Christ's love is like. Go ahead. You first. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 8 21:51:02 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Feb 8 21:51:13 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Without Excuse Message-ID: So, in this argument between the cold hard facts of science and this fairy tale called Christianity, we have revelation. God transferring information to man exactly how He meant it. Before we get into a huge discussion about the thought process, we need to remember that the same gray matter is in the skull of the scientist and the theologian alike. The question is not who is smarter. The question is, "Is there anyone smarter than all mankind?". As science peels back the layers of creation, mother nature, the cosmos, or whatever you want to call it, the burning question remains, "Is the reality uncovered by science any different than the reality of revelation?" There are schools of thought like the Fideists (people who say that Scripture is self-authenticating) and the Empiricists (people who stress the intrinsic credibility of the Word). On the other side is geology, physics, biology, and, of course, evolution. Now, on top of all this, there is the historical evidence that supports the Bible and science. The theologian looks at a rock and wants to know if it was part of an important Biblical archeological site. The geologist wants to know how it fits into the landscape and whether there is anything on the inside that gives insight into some part of the universe. Both people have the same goal to hold up the same rock say, "See!" Here is the great sin to the scoffer of either point of view. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities?his eternal power and divine nature?have clearly been seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20 That is the point. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 9 21:59:11 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Feb 9 21:59:28 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Prudent and Discreet Message-ID: I remember learning a lesson about theory and reality when Dad was teaching me to drive. I had learned the contents of the driving manual well. I knew what was legal and illegal. I knew how to signal, how to pass, and how to parallel park. But, like all newly-minted drivers, I didn't know much about the reality of driving. While driving down a major road, I had to brake hard to avoid a pedestrian who was jaywalking across four lanes of traffic. I made the comment to Dad, "Wow. If I had hit him, it would have been his fault." Without missing a beat, Dad replied, "Yep. But he could have died. How would you feel about being right, then?" He made a point that applies to practical, real life all the time. There may be ground rules and guidelines for every endeavor in life, but then there's reality. You learn to stop for pedestrians no matter where they cross. You learn to wait one beat after your light turns green to make sure nobody is trying to sneak through the intersection at the last moment. You learn to understand how things work within the defined framework. Scripture has clearly marked out sin. Scripture has clearly told us to avoid sin and to help tell others that sin is killing them and they need a Savior. To God's credit, though, He's also told us to not be stupid about applying that knowledge. "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion." Proverbs 8:12 Notice that wisdom and knowledge are inextricably tied to prudence and discretion. You cannot claim to be a wise in the Spirit while you stand on the sidewalk loudly condemning all who walk by. What you say may be true, but it's not prudent or discreet. It also doesn't bring many people to Christ. Does this mean we ignore sin? Of course not. We should not condone or approve of it. It simply means that your job is to love and heal, not to punish and condemn. If you are truly wise, you will be prudent. If you're not prudent, then I question your wisdom. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 10 22:42:14 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Feb 10 22:42:28 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Clear the Clog Message-ID: <6C87C883-29B3-4A09-8879-5D19D9D6C7D7@clanwebb.com> I really hate dealing with a clogged drain. I hate it because it's such a pain to fix and because it's usually caused by something that is easily preventable. Sometimes it's food that skips the garbage disposal. Other times it's a wad of paper towel. It's frustrating because it can be avoided. It usually starts when the water just drains slowly, but I decide to live with it. Then it's so slow that something has to be done. The junk that supposed to be taken away from the sink or tub in question is backing up and making everything filthy. Cleaning up what you can see never fixes the problem, though. You have to go through all of that to get to the actual clog in the drain. It might mean using a snake. It might mean disassembling some of your plumbing. Either way, it's painful and uncomfortable, but necessary. Our relationship with God works the same way. A little sin creeps into our life and the relationship slows down, but we ignore it. When it finally stops altogether and the crud from the rest of our life starts backing up, then we know we have to fix it. And fixing it means cleaning out the original clog. We get frustrated and annoyed because we know we could have avoided this problem. We know it's not going to be fun, but there's no avoiding that a fix is needed. What are the tools we need for this spiritual plumbing job? "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24 Prayer. You can ask the One who can see everything to tell you where the problem is. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 The Word. You can read the manual to see where you have gone wrong. Either way, when you use these tools to find the problem, you still need to fix the problem. Fortunately, you don't need to fix it yourself. You simply need to admit that it's there and God will help. It might hurt. It might be uncomfortable. You might need to be cleaned out a bit or have your life rearranged, but it is absolutely necessary. Confess to clear the clog. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 How's your drain running these days? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 11 22:38:15 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Feb 11 22:38:29 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Back Up Message-ID: <77E5B1E2-B0D4-4354-8642-F0B2163EDB34@clanwebb.com> I earned money during college working at the campus computer help desk. While I was on duty, I would answer phone calls from students, faculty, staff, and anyone else who worked for the school. The questions would range from the complex to the strange to the downright silly. I remember one lady calling to ask where she could buy stamps. When I told her I didn't know, she argued that I should since I worked for the "help desk". By far the most common calls were, "I've lost my document. Can you help get it back?" Sometimes they had just misplaced them and they were easily found. Other times, the user had accidentally deleted the file. Some we could resuscitate and others were gone. The most heartbreaking was a student who showed up in person with a single floppy disk and said, "My thesis is on this and now the computers won't read it." He was understandably distraught and emotional, but there was nothing to be done. Months of work had been lost by getting too near a magnet. In every case, we reminded the callers about the importance of backing up their data. It's something that I remind people today when I help with their computers. When it comes to catastrophic data loss, it's not a question of preventing it, it's about being prepared when it inevitably happens. Like most folks, though, I'm not even that consistent in backing up my data. Many of us run the risk of losing months or even years of work because we don't have a backup plan. Fortunately, I have a spiritual backup plan, because I know I'll need it. I know my own abilities to get into Heaven will fall miserably short. I'm depending on Jesus to save my bacon when Judgement Day comes. Even better, I know He's the only backup I need. I know He won't fail. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8 "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge." Proverbs 14:26 My spiritual life is secure, because I've place my trust in God. I don't need to depend on the works of my own hands. What are you depending on? Are you backed up? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 12 22:43:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Feb 12 22:43:41 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Owed Message-ID: We sure get it wrong. We have this idea that, if you made me, you owe me. Our kids feel that way somewhere along the line and I know I have felt that way about God. The truth is that it can only be about us owing God. "I didn't ask to be born!" we cry when we don't get what we want. We pout as children and as adults. Instead of embracing our conception, we complain about it. What we don't like is the discipline and the consequences of our actions. We see no joy in growing up! "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" Job 5:17 This from a guy that knows what it means to get smacked for no reason. "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath." Psalm 38:1 This from a guy that knows it ought to be coming. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7 This from a guy who gets it! Come on, guys. How much fun would it be if we returned every kickoff for a touchdown? He does it because He loves you and discipline is really what He owes you. "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:12 Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 13 23:10:46 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Feb 13 23:10:59 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] God Looks Deep Message-ID: <62E6880B-5570-4023-B2D1-46B69E387E6C@clanwebb.com> Last night I spent some time trying to help out a friend. He had an external computer hard drive die on him due to the wrong power supply being plugged into it. My first test was to see that it, in fact, was not working in it's normal state. It wasn't. Next, I took the drive out if it's case and put it into a new one to see if that worked. Still nothing. My next step is to remove the small logic board on the drive itself and replace it with a similar one. If the data on the circular platters inside the drive is still good, it will be possible to retrieve it. If that data is gone, though, no amount of changing the circuit boards or power supplies will help. The average computer shop would just shrug their shoulders and toss the entire system and offer you a new one. It's just not worth their time to dig into finding the precise problem. I think God is more like the dedicated hobbyist who is willing to keep digging down to the most basic parts to find out what's really in there. If, deep down, underneath your shell, behind the curtains, and stripped of your pretensions, you have a desire for God, He'll come to you. He'll talk to you and love you. If He gets down to the most basic part of you and finds that you don't desire Him. He'll politely leave you alone. I love the image of God sitting at a workbench with a magnifying light and tools slowly removing the parts of me that are useless or getting in the way. He keeps taking pieces off until He finds my heart. Then He'll know me. "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weights the heart." Proverbs 21:2 It doesn't matter what you wear, what you do for a living, what you drive, where you work, where you vacation, or who you know. It's all about what's in your heart. The world, on the other hand, will toss you aside quickly. If you don't fit in their mold and abide by their rules, you're gone. I'm glad God keeps looking. I'm glad He searches my heart. "If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?" Psalm 44:20-21 When He removes the casing around your heart. What will He find? -Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 15 00:39:23 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Feb 15 00:39:45 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Truth Message-ID: I had another Proverb jump out at me today. This one seemed to describe exactly something I see daily. "The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning." Proverbs 14:6 As I've grown up, I've noticed more and more people in society who don't seek truth, but rather choose to latch on to whatever vague rumor or half-truth that fits their world view. It may have always been that way, but it seems to be more on display than ever. The mocker - the person who doesn't desire truth - goes through life looking for what fits their view of life and ignoring or mocking the rest. Then, these folks are shocked to find out that they were wrong. They continue to seek "their" truth, not The Truth. The right way to approach life is to be discerning. And, the only way to be discerning is to compare all ideas and opinions with the Word. Then, and only then, does knowledge come easily. Are you seeking wisdom? if you aren't finding it, are you going about it the right way? Are you being discerning? Or, have you been busy mocking? Don't seek your truth. Seek His Truth. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 15 22:45:27 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Feb 15 22:45:39 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Directing My Steps Message-ID: <4C686B31-786C-4320-AF52-6539CD0CC008@clanwebb.com> You know that clich? that says, "It's better to be lucky than good."? I think I found the equivalent thought for Christians: "It's better to have faith than to try to figure it all out." It's not a clever, but you get my point. I would say that my college years had the highest number of incidents that I can directly attribute to God's work in my life. It's not that I was fervently praying for His intervention or that I was serving Him so completely that a blessing was to be expected. Spiritually, it was probably the furthest I'd been from Him since being saved. Nonetheless, my wife and I still cannot figure out how we survived financially for three years on such a small income. We thank God for that. We had about ten dollars a week to eat, and yet we never went hungry. We thank God for that. Twice we drove from Portland, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts in cars that had no business making that trip. We thank God for that. In retrospect, I realize that I simply didn't know any better. I was convinced that I was supposed to finish school and that my wife would be with me while I did it. I simply kept taking steps forward, taking classes, begging for money from the financial aid office, and working at my meager job. One day, I graduated and I had a job lined up. God was laying the groundwork all along. He seems so clearly involved in my memories of that time, but He was invisible to me while I was in the midst of it. He was right there and I missed Him. I see Him now, though, because I know where to look. "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23 "A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" Proverbs 20:24 I clearly didn't understand it, then. I do now. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 16 22:37:55 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri Feb 16 22:38:07 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Kinship Message-ID: I know intellectually that Jesus understands every detail about my circumstances in life. I know that He was human for a time and experienced the same things I do now. It's just hard to feel that kinship. I can believe it in my brain, but I often envision Jesus as someone who sort of glided through life because He was perfect. What I try to remember is that, although He was perfect and without sin, the world around Him certainly wasn't. I have to remember that He had to put up with the thousands of little insults the world throws at you, too. He scraped His knees as a child. He stubbed His toe now and then. I'm sure He whacked His thumb with a hammer more than once. He had to deal with acne. His voice changed. He went through a clumsy phase. He had to learn to obey Joseph. He made friends. He had friends let Him down. He had sibling rivalries. He had disappointments. He had no-win decisions to make that didn't seem fair on the surface. He saw friends go through struggles. He had friends die. He led His followers into a life that often brought them pain and isolation here on Earth. He knew it was right, but that doesn't mean it was fun to watch. He saw life as we see it. He felt it exactly as we feel it. The only difference was that He understood how to deal with it. It's not that He hasn't experienced what we have, He just responded the way we should. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21 "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18 The more I focus on what His life was like, the more kinship I feel with Him. Then I start to really understand how well He understands me. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 17 22:17:16 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Feb 17 22:17:45 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Good Things Message-ID: <88CFF25E-172F-444A-8F86-3F59C62E8609@clanwebb.com> The idea of freewill, when God is in charge of everything and has a master plan, causes one to pause at the apparent contradiction. No matter what I do, God wills it? No. Whatever you do, God accepts your decision and wills the consequences. There are three categories of consequences: First, all the good that happens. Second, all the good that never happens. Third, all the evil that happens because God allows it to happen. Our decisions will reap consequences either under group one or a combination of groups two and three. God's desire is for the first choice always. Our job is to hit the mark and ring the number one bell every time. This is done by staying in the Word and mining the righteous requirements it takes to ring the number one bell. Remember that the third grouping manifests as real events and, as often as we are there, we will never know what we missed out on in group two. Define "happy" as always making the first group and don't make assumptions about what is good by the world's standards. "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15 BECAUSE "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galatians 6:7-8 We cannot imaging the good things God has in store for us, but we can miss out on them. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 18 22:38:10 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Feb 18 22:38:25 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Titles Message-ID: I am always amazed at what is important to people. Things that seem trivial to me can be of supreme value and critical to a happy life for others. Titles are one of those things. Some titles are purely adornment. Knighthoods. College degrees. Doctor. These only represent an honor or a completion of effort. There are no responsibilities placed on the one who receives the title. They simply accept it and move on in life. Some titles require new responsibilities. President. Captain. CEO. These titles are not permanently attached, though. The responsibilities can come and go. I had the title of Director of Engineering and managed several people. At my next job, I started as a Senior Programmer and my responsibilities were much different. I wasn't different, just my responsibilities. Finally, some titles require life changes. Husband. Father. And, most importantly, Christian. These require us to change our outlook on life and how we behave. These titles are long journeys. Some of us do better than others in responding to these changes, but these titles cannot be altered easily. Some cannot ever be changed. I am sad for those people who get the different kinds of titles mixed up. Specifically, every time I read a poll about how many Americans identify themselves as Christians, I wonder how many realize that Christian is a life changing title. It's not an adornment. Some who call themselves Christian wear it like a necklace or a badge. They don't know about the journey. They think they can pin it to their shirt and they'll get waved past the velvet ropes at the pearly gates when the time comes. "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." " John 14:6 "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." " Luke 9:23 Now, it is certainly true that those who truly invited Christ into their hearts are locked in. They cannot lose their ticket. However, those who do so and then fall away are missing out. They will be saved by the skin of their teeth. Paul spoke about that and said that your life on earth will be tested by fire: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." 1 Corinthians 3:15 Unfortunately, I believe most of those poll responders either have simply pinned Christ's name to their chest and will be turned away or they will make it through without even the shirt on on their back. Don't be one who treats the title Christian as adornment. Treat it as the journey and lifelong commitment that it is. Cherish it. Strive to live up to it. Make it the one you would choose above all the others you have. Be a follower of Christ. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 19 22:42:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Feb 19 22:42:53 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] It's All Part of the Plan Message-ID: <253ADC93-5E76-4921-B1BC-3E5681F094BE@clanwebb.com> It was raining as I sat at an open house this past Sunday. I must say, there were not a lot of lookers out and about so the four and half hours went by rather slowly. I did have a Sunday paper and it was the first time in a long time that I browsed it from cover to cover. There are some changes coming down the road, and they are not all bad. First, there was a cartoon which, of course, was the first place I went. It hit right to the heart about the fact that conservatives give to charities about a hundred times more than liberals, except when it comes to other people's tax money. I liked that. Next, there was an article about how big business is integrating room for people to talk about their faith to coworkers. It's not for trying to convert them, just to talk about it. How wonderful! After all, that is all we are supposed to do, because Jesus will do the rest. Next came a piece about scientists becoming concerned that the population, although impressed with science, is looking elsewhere to fulfill their lives. It included things like astrology, but it does mean people are looking. I'm not sure I understand what it all means, but I see God at work in His timeless fashion. Last, but not least, I was reading about the Mariners in spring training and how the manager thinks they might contend this year. Hey, have a little faith! "This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations." Isaiah 14:26 Have a week full of blessings, Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 20 22:28:06 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Feb 20 22:28:19 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] See the Doctor Message-ID: <88547D25-3355-4733-9101-F2ED7BA3B28B@clanwebb.com> I hate being sick. I hate how it slows me down and gets in the way of life. There are those who live slow as a rule, so it doesn't disrupt them as much. That is certainly not me. I can deal with not feeling quite right. I can deal with taking the drugs and carrying around a box of tissues. I just get annoyed at how it breaks my rhythm and screws up my schedule. Part of that, no doubt, is that my work doesn't get done by someone else when I'm sick. It just waits for me and then backs up on me when I return. My frustration with being sick is such that I go into complete denial when it happens. I blame it on my allergies. I blame it a cold day or a dusty job. I blame the aches on a busy day at work. Anything to hold off admitting that I have a cold. The irony is that the longer I deny it, the longer I wait to treat it, and the longer it takes me to get over it. If I were to take the drugs and take a day off, I'd likely rebound faster. I end up feeling bad for a longer stretch and being less effective during that time than I normally would. It's a bad deal for me, for my family, and for my employer. How dumb is that? Oh, wait. That's right. I'm human. We do exactly the same thing when sin creeps into our life. I hate when this happens because it disrupts my relationship with Christ and with my family. I find myself being emotionally clumsy with my wife and creating rifts. I find myself getting less done at work. I feel run down because I'm growing distant from my Lord. I want to deny that sin is causing the problem, so I wait until it's blindingly obvious before I deal with it. "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13 "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" ? and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." Psalm 32:5 Why, oh, why do we wait? Don't wait to deal with the illness. Confess and be healed immediately. You don't have to wait any more. We're human, so we resist it. Fight the urge to wait. Go see the Doctor and be healed. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Feb 21 23:48:41 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed Feb 21 23:48:55 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Coming Home Message-ID: <1B13D6E9-2678-488D-9F0E-4EAE6A954F4A@clanwebb.com> I remember growing up on the farm and all the freedom that such a life allowed me. Land, barns, farm equipment, and any number of interesting geographical features were available for a boy to hide when the need arose. I can tell you that the bigger the need - in my case, the size of the offense - the sneakier I had to be in my selection of a hiding place. One of my best places was deep under the front porch. That way, I could pretty much tell where my mom was looking and where she was at any given moment. It was also close to a source of food and water if I needed to stay incognito for a while. Sooner or later, though, the cat and mouse game would end. The conclusion was always the same: I had to come in from the cold and face the music. At the beginning of each incident, there seemed to be a good place to hide, but I couldn't hold out forever and I eventually had to return home. So it is with God and His people. One sure sign that someone is saved is that you have seen them go through conviction. They are willing to share with you a time they ran and hid, but came home. The sure sign that someone isn't saved is when you see him run and hide and never return. "When they sin against you?for there is no one who does not sin?and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;" 2 Chronicles 6:36 That's one place you do not want to go. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 22 22:00:52 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu Feb 22 22:01:24 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Huddle Up Message-ID: <36D09504-E372-43A5-894C-B7FCD8BA9BAC@clanwebb.com> I played football in high school. I remember that one of the things I hated most was coming back to the huddle when my man had gotten past me and done some damage. Many of my fellow players would get all over me. They could get downright ugly in language and inference. It wasn't very good for my confidence. I wasn't the only one, though. Nobody was exempt, but I always tried to remember that, in one play, it could be me getting all of the unwanted attention. Playing defense was tough, dirty work and your picture was rarely in the annual or the newspaper. Sometimes, I feel like I am coming back to the huddle after letting Satan through the line. I expect to catch the full force of God's vengeance because Satan got past me and did some damage. But, instead, I get encouragement and assurance. I get another chance to be better, to be the best, and to win it all. "But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life." Luke 21:14-19 Break! Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 24 00:25:41 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat Feb 24 00:25:56 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] (no subject) Message-ID: <56C6EFE5-E2DB-4B0C-A152-9AD9836EF289@clanwebb.com> There is nothing like the feeling a man has when he overcomes a sin. That feeling when it is far enough in the past and thoroughly confessed that you know it no longer has a hold on your life. I know two men. One is a man who overcame an addiction to alcohol. This is no small feat as a very small percentage of people that try actually make it. Another fellow that, on top of his addiction, lost his wife to an overdose of a common over-the-counter pain reliever. He struggles every day not only to maintain, but to break free. I pray for him often and give praise for each day that he can get by and regain lost ground. God holds both of these men in the palm of his hand: one free and one still a captive, but both are saved. One knows the joy of overcoming. The other is climbing the mountain. "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death." Revelation 2:11 "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Revelation 21:7 Keep striving, men. Keep coming and don't stop. It'll be worth it. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 25 00:07:17 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Feb 25 00:07:35 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Wounds From a Friend Message-ID: <3BC43425-06F6-44D2-99E8-BD4A7BACC6AA@clanwebb.com> I am old enough now that I can look back on my life and review my wounds. I remember one in particular that happened while fishing on the Snake River. We were on a mission to hook a sturgeon. The rod is a short, stout affair with a double hook set up with herring as bait. My buddy was going to heave a monster cast out on the river and let it drift back into the hole we were fishing. He forgot to release the drag for the cast and the line acted like a bullwhip. The backlash embedded one of the hooks into my forearm. The hook, about three inches long, went into my flesh, past the barb, and then back out again. At this point we both knew there was going to be pain involved. I knew it was an accident because he was twice the fisherman I was and it was just one of those things. He sat me down and we joked for a moment or two to decide what to do next. If he cut the line and put me in the boat, we could be in town in an hour or so, but, by then, my arm would be the size of a watermelon and there would be a lot more pain in getting it out. Besides, I didn't want to ruin our trip. So, we made the only logical decision and that was that we should take it out ourselves. We came up with a pair of rusty side cutters and he clipped both ends of the hook and crimped the barb down. I shook and sweated like a hound dog with malaria as I watched him curl the hook out. It took half a bottle of distilled adult beverage to get me past the first phase, the extraction, and the other half of the bottle to convince myself that the rusty bait-encrusted hook wasn't going to produce gangrene. All in all it produced a good story and something to rib him about later, but I will tell you that it was painful. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6 I would rather have had that wound come from a friend than all the slick words in the world from someone I could not trust. Know your friends and accept their wounds. Some may be intentional and for your own good and some may just be one of those things. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 25 22:18:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun Feb 25 22:18:44 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Like Children Message-ID: While developing educational software, I've learned quite a bit, oddly enough. My expertise has always been in making the computer do what you want in the way you want. I've worked with quite a few folks, though, who know a lot about how children learn. There were some basic rules we had to play by if we wanted a child to actually learn from our software. Subtle changes could make the activities educationally powerful or very useless. One rule was that while the software would guide the child toward the right answer, it should never actually choose the correct answer for them. Each time the child made an incorrect answer, we would remove some of the choices and ask them again. After several tries, the only remaining choice would be the correct one. It was important that the child made the choice and got the reward, though, so we never did it for them. Another rule was that there were never any dead ends. No matter how far off course or how far away from the right solution the child got, there was a way back. There was always a way to solve the problem. After some years, I realize that these rules don't just work on children, they work on us, too. God gave us His Word, His Son, and His Spirit to guide us toward the right answers. He uses His followers to speak about Christ and share the Gospel to help guide unbelievers to the truth. But, at the end of the day, God does not force people to follow Him. They still have to make the right choice. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20 The man has to open the door. Christ will not barge in. God also makes sure that we always have a way back to Him. There is always a path away from sin and toward Him. There is always a solution that brings us closer to the truth. There is always a right choice. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 So, you see, God is simply teaching us like children. After all, that's how we should approach Him. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 26 21:58:53 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon Feb 26 21:59:06 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Righteous Message-ID: "A loving God wouldn't punish me if I have good intentions." "I don't believe in your God, so I don't need to follow His rules." "I may blow it once in a while, but I'm much better than most other people. I'll get in to Heaven because I'm above average." Those who don't believe will often quote Scripture about how God is compassionate, loving, and forgiving. He is all of those things. However, He is also righteous and He is NOT contradictory. God will not be merciful to the point of being unrighteous. You can't hang your hat on His mercy without understanding His righteousness. "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares." Romans 2:12-16 Whether you buy into His law or not, you are still subject to it and you will be judged and die by it if you cannot prove your holiness. You cannot plead ignorance because His truth has been written on your heart before you were born. You know His authority to be true and acting like you don't won't save you from judgement. Furthermore, Jesus Christ offers to take our death for us. He will make us holy by accepting the punishment that we were due. You cannot deny Jesus and claim eligibility for Heaven. It just won't happen. God showed His mercy and love by sending Jesus to pay the price for our sin. God showed His righteousness by accepting that payment before letting us into His kingdom. God is merciful and righteous. God is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can't accept the part of His nature that you like and ignore the part you don't like. God loves you and will hold you accountable for your actions. Would you want to depend on the logic displayed above? Or, would you want to depend on the promise of Christ? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 27 22:37:42 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue Feb 27 22:37:55 2007 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Manhood Message-ID: <745B5D15-F7E6-4792-BAC7-521FD4DA2CB5@clanwebb.com> Not too long ago, I read "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. I loved the way he ferreted out the idea that God designed men to be the adventurous, dangerous, and strong men we all aspire to be. It's not just all that testosterone that causes it (well, maybe that's what causes it, but it's there for a reason), God designed us that way. If you asked for examples of the man my father aspired to be, he'd probably talk about the TV and movie representations of Tarzan, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and most of John Wayne's roles. I would point to characters like Captain Kirk, Han Solo, Rambo, and Tom Cruise as an F-14 pilot. (I don't want to be in the same zip code with Tom Cruise, now, on the off chance that crazy is contagious.) What is clear from these names and characters is the utter manliness in each of these roles. There's a desire to be strong, capable, and respected by your friends and enemies alike. Most, if not all, of these characters were also good guys. When the chips were down, you knew they'd do the right thing. I laugh when people suggest that becoming a Christian means throwing that all away and becoming some sort of lukewarm, monotone wimp. God designed us that way. He didn't do it just so we'd have to ignore it when we chose to follow Him. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Getting saved does not mean giving up your manhood. It means finding real manhood. After all, following Christ means you're learning at the feet of The Man. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 1 21:31:53 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 21:31:53 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] He Is Message-ID: <24B1C23F-ACC1-475F-9DA6-CA33C786869C@clanwebb.com> During our class last night, we came to the point in the discussion where we were to talk about "Who is God?". This is an important point for the Christian to get set in his mind as it will be the question the non-believer will ask eventually. I must admit to a prejudice at this point as I feel one of the looming challenges to the non- believer is that there are too many believers who are lofty thinkers. Too much dissection, explanation, contemplation, and publication must delight Satan. Too many of the published definitions include attributes or character traits of God, but miss the obvious. I don't care where you are coming from, but a basic discussion of this question must always end with the point of who or what was here always. You can't make something out of nothing and matter without intelligence can't motivate itself to produce. So, whatever one believes, that which is the eternal intelligence must be God. The next logical progression, then, is, "Can we know God and His attributes?". I don't feel you can mix the two, nor should you go forward until you have an understanding in your own mind to the basic question. The Christian must fix in his mind that going backwards from God is impossible. To further compound the challenge is that no physical law applies to God as He has no limitations. Without acceptance of this premise, one starts down the eternal rabbit trail of "Can God do this or that?", "Does God work this way or that?", "Is God here or there?", or "Why does God do what He does the way He does?". The Christian is not a "why" person. The Christian is an "is" person. We are an "is" people because of our faith and unapologetically so! "God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. "I AM has sent me to you." " Exodus 3:14 Look at the results of the spirit world upon the physical world. Don't try to peer into the spiritual world. We'll be there in the end. The opinion expressed above is that of the author and, if they are in contradiction to anyone wiser ? and there are many ? let's talk about it. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 2 22:03:27 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 22:03:27 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Let It Fly Away Message-ID: <0F4921BB-6D2E-487E-B33E-3648FFBCC274@clanwebb.com> Give a teddy bear to a young child and he will likely take it and smile. Give him two teddy bears and he'll hug them close and maybe even say, "Thank you." Now, take one bear back and that child will be sad or angry. When my son was younger, he wanted to play with me as much as possible, which I loved. What made it tough to do, though, was that no matter how long we played or what games we enjoyed, he was always angry at me when it was time to be done. He always felt that I was taking something away. This same feeling occurred with a coworker of mine at a previous job. We were all given bonuses as a reward for a project well done. They were a little larger than we expected, so we were all happy. One fellow, though, wasn't aware that the bonus check would be taxed at a different rate than his paycheck. He was somewhat surprised when he saw the final amount. He was angry at this perceived loss of income. What I'm describing here is the human nature to assume (incorrectly) that everything that appears to be in your possession or under your control is, in fact, yours. In each of these scenarios I've described, the angry person had more or had received something of value at the end of the story. However, he had gone from being content to angry. All because it seemed like something had been taken away. The fact that there was a net gain is lost in the emotion of the perceived loss. I still have twinges of this feeling when I start doing my taxes. I get frustrated with all the money the government takes to do things I don't want them to do. I have to remember, though, that I'm still enjoying a net gain from the blessings of God. If I went back to the beginning of my story, I'd have nothing. "[...] Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21 Notice here the distinct lack of the phrase "and keep what is yours". "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters." Psalm 24:1-2 It's not ours in any way, shape, or form. It is God's. So, when you see the money going away, don't be angry. It wasn't yours anyway. Be blessed by what God has granted you to have. Be thankful because before you knew Him, you had much, much less. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 3 20:05:40 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 3 Feb 2007 20:05:40 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] No Observers Message-ID: " "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. " Ezekiel 33:30-32 Does this sound familiar? Have you ever seen a people who appear to appreciate God's Word being taught, but are, in fact, just admiring the performance and not the message? This scripture jumped off the page at me when I read it. This precisely describes so much of American Christianity. People love to go hear a powerful message. They love to hear good music. They even join in and get caught up in the moment. But, when they walk out the door, they act as if they just saw a good movie or enjoyed a well- performed play. They will talk about their favorite parts and even get excited about coming again next week. But the reality went over their heads. Nothing in their life between Sundays changes. God's Word is direction to you on how to be saved and how to serve Him. He did not write Scripture, send Christ, build the Church, and raise up your pastor to put on a good show. He did all these things because He loves you and has a plan for you. He's just trying to get the message through. But, so many would just rather sit back and watch. Don't be an observer. Be part of the reality going on around you. "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22 C'mon, let's be doers of the Word. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 4 21:34:44 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 21:34:44 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Commit to the Lord Message-ID: Whatever team you were rooting for, you had to be excited about the end of the Super Bowl. It was a good game, but I'm not talking about the final score or who the winner was. I'm talking about the glory given to God at the earliest opportunity by those involved. When the championship trophy was presented to the owner of the Colts, he quickly thanked God and gave Him the glory for their victory. When the coach spoke, he was asked about the importance of being the first black coach to win a Super Bowl. He politely agreed that it was an honor to be the first, but he followed up by saying he was more proud of the fact that he and the opposing coach had proved that you could be a Christian and put God first and still succeed at the highest level of professional sports. I think that was a powerful message to all of those players and coaches-to-be. I've heard over and over how the only way to succeed at that level is to live and breath your sport all day, every day, all year long. You hear stories about coaches sleeping in their office, reviewing film at all hours, and never seeing their family. It takes a toll on their health, their relationships, and their lives. When football becomes the idol, your life is heading the wrong way. Alternatively, I read that the coach of the Colts had been out at the mall with his family the night before the AFC championship game two weeks ago. He had a life. He had relationships. Most of all, he had a relationship with God. Football is a job that he loves, but it's not his life. He figured it out. "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 If you're working all out and not succeeding, I submit that working harder isn't likely to solve the problem. Try committing your work to the Lord and making sure you haven't placed something else on your altar. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 5 22:56:04 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2007 22:56:04 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Believe Reality Message-ID: <10E595D7-0301-469D-B014-C87706194723@clanwebb.com> I remember back in college when two great icons of television started. Star Trek and Sesame Street captured our imaginations and both shows opened new doors for creativity. One dealt with the future and the other with current society from a child's point of view. Both gave a certain comfort level to the viewer on how we saw mankind. Many viewers became reliant on the ideas portrayed in these shows as more than just entertainment. It was as if Star Trek allowed children to continue the trip from Big Bird and Cookie Monster to Spock and Kirk. Our imaginations really took flight and, today, the special effects in entertainment can be enough to make it difficult to discern between fantasy and reality. We are now at a point where what we once thought was impossible appears over and over as entirely plausible. Hence the idea that, "Whatever the mind of man can first conceive then believe he can achieve." A purely deceptive philosophy. Why is it that we will buy into what is made up by the mind of man, but not that which is made by the living God? "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Corinthians 13:11 Therefore, when we make the decision to accept that God is spirit, we move from the realm of puppets and the blue screen to the reality of the universe we live in. There is an "out there" realm, but Gene Roddenberry and George Lucas had nothing to do with its creation. To know God is to accept the fact that God cannot be represented by anything the mind of man can conceive. In fact, it is forbidden to even try. "You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth or in the waters below." Exodus 20:3-4 If you want to see God, you must know Jesus because He is how God chose to reveal Himself. "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." Colossians 1:15 Christ is the real bridge form the physical to the spiritual; from the seen to the unseen. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 6 22:05:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 22:05:30 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Get Pumped Message-ID: Can you think of a time when you really wanted a policeman to drive up? Maybe it was when somebody ran a red light in front of you. Maybe it was when you saw someone shoplifting. Maybe it was just because you wanted some authority figure to show up and scare off the neighborhood teenagers. Now, can you think of a time when you were really hoping a policeman didn't show up? Maybe it was when you accidently blew through a stop sign. Maybe it was when you made a quick stop and parked in the handicapped spot. Maybe it was just when you were snooping around the neighbor's backyard. Notice how in the first case you were desiring strict justice? Notice how in the second case you were hoping for a pass? We don't desire strict justice all the time because we know that it will work in our favor sometimes and against us at other times. True justice, after all, is fair and we are biased. "Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity." Psalm 98:8-9 Woo hoo! Aren't you excited? Are you on the edge of your seat waiting for the Lord to come judge the world? Hmm, that makes you think a bit. Are you really ready for Him to come judge you? There's the twist. I'm absolutely ready because when He comes to judge me, He will see Jesus and judge me righteous. I can be excited and look forward to when He comes to judge because I already know the outcome. It's nothing I've done which is why I have complete confidence in it. If I was depending on my own track record, I'd be scared to death. That's why I'm depending on Christ. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Feb 7 22:25:29 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 22:25:29 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] First Message-ID: <2115AD1C-F19B-45F2-9894-C66A3A702433@clanwebb.com> In sports, it is a good thing to be the first one to do something. It is a sign of accomplishment and ability. Roger Bannister is famous for being the first to run a mile in less than four minutes. Jackie Robinson is famous for being the first black player in Major League Baseball. Babe Ruth was the first to hit 60 home runs. Mark McGwire was the first to 70. In relationships, we all seem to function as if being first has too much risk for the possible reward. We tend to wait to see what the other person will do and react. We don't want to look foolish. We don't want to be exposed and get hurt. "We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 It is human nature to only love those who have loved us first. Christ loved us first, so once we figured that out, it was only logical to love Him. However, Christ has also called us to love like Him. He wants us to learn to love first when dealing with those around us. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 Wait, it gets better. "But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44 Not only should we love first, but we should love those who are actively working against us! That's a stretch! But, in fact, that's exactly what Christ did when He was on earth and what He's doing this very moment. So, be the one to love unconditionally. Be the one to start the relationship. Be the one that shows someone what Christ's love is like. Go ahead. You first. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 8 21:51:02 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 21:51:02 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Without Excuse Message-ID: So, in this argument between the cold hard facts of science and this fairy tale called Christianity, we have revelation. God transferring information to man exactly how He meant it. Before we get into a huge discussion about the thought process, we need to remember that the same gray matter is in the skull of the scientist and the theologian alike. The question is not who is smarter. The question is, "Is there anyone smarter than all mankind?". As science peels back the layers of creation, mother nature, the cosmos, or whatever you want to call it, the burning question remains, "Is the reality uncovered by science any different than the reality of revelation?" There are schools of thought like the Fideists (people who say that Scripture is self-authenticating) and the Empiricists (people who stress the intrinsic credibility of the Word). On the other side is geology, physics, biology, and, of course, evolution. Now, on top of all this, there is the historical evidence that supports the Bible and science. The theologian looks at a rock and wants to know if it was part of an important Biblical archeological site. The geologist wants to know how it fits into the landscape and whether there is anything on the inside that gives insight into some part of the universe. Both people have the same goal to hold up the same rock say, "See!" Here is the great sin to the scoffer of either point of view. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities?his eternal power and divine nature?have clearly been seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20 That is the point. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 9 21:59:11 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2007 21:59:11 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Prudent and Discreet Message-ID: I remember learning a lesson about theory and reality when Dad was teaching me to drive. I had learned the contents of the driving manual well. I knew what was legal and illegal. I knew how to signal, how to pass, and how to parallel park. But, like all newly-minted drivers, I didn't know much about the reality of driving. While driving down a major road, I had to brake hard to avoid a pedestrian who was jaywalking across four lanes of traffic. I made the comment to Dad, "Wow. If I had hit him, it would have been his fault." Without missing a beat, Dad replied, "Yep. But he could have died. How would you feel about being right, then?" He made a point that applies to practical, real life all the time. There may be ground rules and guidelines for every endeavor in life, but then there's reality. You learn to stop for pedestrians no matter where they cross. You learn to wait one beat after your light turns green to make sure nobody is trying to sneak through the intersection at the last moment. You learn to understand how things work within the defined framework. Scripture has clearly marked out sin. Scripture has clearly told us to avoid sin and to help tell others that sin is killing them and they need a Savior. To God's credit, though, He's also told us to not be stupid about applying that knowledge. "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion." Proverbs 8:12 Notice that wisdom and knowledge are inextricably tied to prudence and discretion. You cannot claim to be a wise in the Spirit while you stand on the sidewalk loudly condemning all who walk by. What you say may be true, but it's not prudent or discreet. It also doesn't bring many people to Christ. Does this mean we ignore sin? Of course not. We should not condone or approve of it. It simply means that your job is to love and heal, not to punish and condemn. If you are truly wise, you will be prudent. If you're not prudent, then I question your wisdom. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 10 22:42:14 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:42:14 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Clear the Clog Message-ID: <6C87C883-29B3-4A09-8879-5D19D9D6C7D7@clanwebb.com> I really hate dealing with a clogged drain. I hate it because it's such a pain to fix and because it's usually caused by something that is easily preventable. Sometimes it's food that skips the garbage disposal. Other times it's a wad of paper towel. It's frustrating because it can be avoided. It usually starts when the water just drains slowly, but I decide to live with it. Then it's so slow that something has to be done. The junk that supposed to be taken away from the sink or tub in question is backing up and making everything filthy. Cleaning up what you can see never fixes the problem, though. You have to go through all of that to get to the actual clog in the drain. It might mean using a snake. It might mean disassembling some of your plumbing. Either way, it's painful and uncomfortable, but necessary. Our relationship with God works the same way. A little sin creeps into our life and the relationship slows down, but we ignore it. When it finally stops altogether and the crud from the rest of our life starts backing up, then we know we have to fix it. And fixing it means cleaning out the original clog. We get frustrated and annoyed because we know we could have avoided this problem. We know it's not going to be fun, but there's no avoiding that a fix is needed. What are the tools we need for this spiritual plumbing job? "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23-24 Prayer. You can ask the One who can see everything to tell you where the problem is. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double- edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12 The Word. You can read the manual to see where you have gone wrong. Either way, when you use these tools to find the problem, you still need to fix the problem. Fortunately, you don't need to fix it yourself. You simply need to admit that it's there and God will help. It might hurt. It might be uncomfortable. You might need to be cleaned out a bit or have your life rearranged, but it is absolutely necessary. Confess to clear the clog. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 How's your drain running these days? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 11 22:38:15 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2007 22:38:15 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Back Up Message-ID: <77E5B1E2-B0D4-4354-8642-F0B2163EDB34@clanwebb.com> I earned money during college working at the campus computer help desk. While I was on duty, I would answer phone calls from students, faculty, staff, and anyone else who worked for the school. The questions would range from the complex to the strange to the downright silly. I remember one lady calling to ask where she could buy stamps. When I told her I didn't know, she argued that I should since I worked for the "help desk". By far the most common calls were, "I've lost my document. Can you help get it back?" Sometimes they had just misplaced them and they were easily found. Other times, the user had accidentally deleted the file. Some we could resuscitate and others were gone. The most heartbreaking was a student who showed up in person with a single floppy disk and said, "My thesis is on this and now the computers won't read it." He was understandably distraught and emotional, but there was nothing to be done. Months of work had been lost by getting too near a magnet. In every case, we reminded the callers about the importance of backing up their data. It's something that I remind people today when I help with their computers. When it comes to catastrophic data loss, it's not a question of preventing it, it's about being prepared when it inevitably happens. Like most folks, though, I'm not even that consistent in backing up my data. Many of us run the risk of losing months or even years of work because we don't have a backup plan. Fortunately, I have a spiritual backup plan, because I know I'll need it. I know my own abilities to get into Heaven will fall miserably short. I'm depending on Jesus to save my bacon when Judgement Day comes. Even better, I know He's the only backup I need. I know He won't fail. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." Psalm 118:8 "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge." Proverbs 14:26 My spiritual life is secure, because I've place my trust in God. I don't need to depend on the works of my own hands. What are you depending on? Are you backed up? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 12 22:43:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:43:30 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Owed Message-ID: We sure get it wrong. We have this idea that, if you made me, you owe me. Our kids feel that way somewhere along the line and I know I have felt that way about God. The truth is that it can only be about us owing God. "I didn't ask to be born!" we cry when we don't get what we want. We pout as children and as adults. Instead of embracing our conception, we complain about it. What we don't like is the discipline and the consequences of our actions. We see no joy in growing up! "Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty" Job 5:17 This from a guy that knows what it means to get smacked for no reason. "O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath." Psalm 38:1 This from a guy that knows it ought to be coming. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7 This from a guy who gets it! Come on, guys. How much fun would it be if we returned every kickoff for a touchdown? He does it because He loves you and discipline is really what He owes you. "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." Proverbs 3:12 Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 13 23:10:46 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:10:46 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] God Looks Deep Message-ID: <62E6880B-5570-4023-B2D1-46B69E387E6C@clanwebb.com> Last night I spent some time trying to help out a friend. He had an external computer hard drive die on him due to the wrong power supply being plugged into it. My first test was to see that it, in fact, was not working in it's normal state. It wasn't. Next, I took the drive out if it's case and put it into a new one to see if that worked. Still nothing. My next step is to remove the small logic board on the drive itself and replace it with a similar one. If the data on the circular platters inside the drive is still good, it will be possible to retrieve it. If that data is gone, though, no amount of changing the circuit boards or power supplies will help. The average computer shop would just shrug their shoulders and toss the entire system and offer you a new one. It's just not worth their time to dig into finding the precise problem. I think God is more like the dedicated hobbyist who is willing to keep digging down to the most basic parts to find out what's really in there. If, deep down, underneath your shell, behind the curtains, and stripped of your pretensions, you have a desire for God, He'll come to you. He'll talk to you and love you. If He gets down to the most basic part of you and finds that you don't desire Him. He'll politely leave you alone. I love the image of God sitting at a workbench with a magnifying light and tools slowly removing the parts of me that are useless or getting in the way. He keeps taking pieces off until He finds my heart. Then He'll know me. "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weights the heart." Proverbs 21:2 It doesn't matter what you wear, what you do for a living, what you drive, where you work, where you vacation, or who you know. It's all about what's in your heart. The world, on the other hand, will toss you aside quickly. If you don't fit in their mold and abide by their rules, you're gone. I'm glad God keeps looking. I'm glad He searches my heart. "If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?" Psalm 44:20-21 When He removes the casing around your heart. What will He find? -Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 15 00:39:23 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:39:23 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Truth Message-ID: I had another Proverb jump out at me today. This one seemed to describe exactly something I see daily. "The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning." Proverbs 14:6 As I've grown up, I've noticed more and more people in society who don't seek truth, but rather choose to latch on to whatever vague rumor or half-truth that fits their world view. It may have always been that way, but it seems to be more on display than ever. The mocker - the person who doesn't desire truth - goes through life looking for what fits their view of life and ignoring or mocking the rest. Then, these folks are shocked to find out that they were wrong. They continue to seek "their" truth, not The Truth. The right way to approach life is to be discerning. And, the only way to be discerning is to compare all ideas and opinions with the Word. Then, and only then, does knowledge come easily. Are you seeking wisdom? if you aren't finding it, are you going about it the right way? Are you being discerning? Or, have you been busy mocking? Don't seek your truth. Seek His Truth. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 15 22:45:27 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 22:45:27 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Directing My Steps Message-ID: <4C686B31-786C-4320-AF52-6539CD0CC008@clanwebb.com> You know that clich? that says, "It's better to be lucky than good."? I think I found the equivalent thought for Christians: "It's better to have faith than to try to figure it all out." It's not a clever, but you get my point. I would say that my college years had the highest number of incidents that I can directly attribute to God's work in my life. It's not that I was fervently praying for His intervention or that I was serving Him so completely that a blessing was to be expected. Spiritually, it was probably the furthest I'd been from Him since being saved. Nonetheless, my wife and I still cannot figure out how we survived financially for three years on such a small income. We thank God for that. We had about ten dollars a week to eat, and yet we never went hungry. We thank God for that. Twice we drove from Portland, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts in cars that had no business making that trip. We thank God for that. In retrospect, I realize that I simply didn't know any better. I was convinced that I was supposed to finish school and that my wife would be with me while I did it. I simply kept taking steps forward, taking classes, begging for money from the financial aid office, and working at my meager job. One day, I graduated and I had a job lined up. God was laying the groundwork all along. He seems so clearly involved in my memories of that time, but He was invisible to me while I was in the midst of it. He was right there and I missed Him. I see Him now, though, because I know where to look. "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23 "A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?" Proverbs 20:24 I clearly didn't understand it, then. I do now. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Fri Feb 16 22:37:55 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:37:55 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Kinship Message-ID: I know intellectually that Jesus understands every detail about my circumstances in life. I know that He was human for a time and experienced the same things I do now. It's just hard to feel that kinship. I can believe it in my brain, but I often envision Jesus as someone who sort of glided through life because He was perfect. What I try to remember is that, although He was perfect and without sin, the world around Him certainly wasn't. I have to remember that He had to put up with the thousands of little insults the world throws at you, too. He scraped His knees as a child. He stubbed His toe now and then. I'm sure He whacked His thumb with a hammer more than once. He had to deal with acne. His voice changed. He went through a clumsy phase. He had to learn to obey Joseph. He made friends. He had friends let Him down. He had sibling rivalries. He had disappointments. He had no-win decisions to make that didn't seem fair on the surface. He saw friends go through struggles. He had friends die. He led His followers into a life that often brought them pain and isolation here on Earth. He knew it was right, but that doesn't mean it was fun to watch. He saw life as we see it. He felt it exactly as we feel it. The only difference was that He understood how to deal with it. It's not that He hasn't experienced what we have, He just responded the way we should. "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1 Peter 2:21 "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Hebrews 2:18 The more I focus on what His life was like, the more kinship I feel with Him. Then I start to really understand how well He understands me. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 17 22:17:16 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 22:17:16 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Good Things Message-ID: <88CFF25E-172F-444A-8F86-3F59C62E8609@clanwebb.com> The idea of freewill, when God is in charge of everything and has a master plan, causes one to pause at the apparent contradiction. No matter what I do, God wills it? No. Whatever you do, God accepts your decision and wills the consequences. There are three categories of consequences: First, all the good that happens. Second, all the good that never happens. Third, all the evil that happens because God allows it to happen. Our decisions will reap consequences either under group one or a combination of groups two and three. God's desire is for the first choice always. Our job is to hit the mark and ring the number one bell every time. This is done by staying in the Word and mining the righteous requirements it takes to ring the number one bell. Remember that the third grouping manifests as real events and, as often as we are there, we will never know what we missed out on in group two. Define "happy" as always making the first group and don't make assumptions about what is good by the world's standards. "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:14-15 BECAUSE "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galatians 6:7-8 We cannot imaging the good things God has in store for us, but we can miss out on them. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 18 22:38:10 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 22:38:10 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Titles Message-ID: I am always amazed at what is important to people. Things that seem trivial to me can be of supreme value and critical to a happy life for others. Titles are one of those things. Some titles are purely adornment. Knighthoods. College degrees. Doctor. These only represent an honor or a completion of effort. There are no responsibilities placed on the one who receives the title. They simply accept it and move on in life. Some titles require new responsibilities. President. Captain. CEO. These titles are not permanently attached, though. The responsibilities can come and go. I had the title of Director of Engineering and managed several people. At my next job, I started as a Senior Programmer and my responsibilities were much different. I wasn't different, just my responsibilities. Finally, some titles require life changes. Husband. Father. And, most importantly, Christian. These require us to change our outlook on life and how we behave. These titles are long journeys. Some of us do better than others in responding to these changes, but these titles cannot be altered easily. Some cannot ever be changed. I am sad for those people who get the different kinds of titles mixed up. Specifically, every time I read a poll about how many Americans identify themselves as Christians, I wonder how many realize that Christian is a life changing title. It's not an adornment. Some who call themselves Christian wear it like a necklace or a badge. They don't know about the journey. They think they can pin it to their shirt and they'll get waved past the velvet ropes at the pearly gates when the time comes. "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." " John 14:6 "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." " Luke 9:23 Now, it is certainly true that those who truly invited Christ into their hearts are locked in. They cannot lose their ticket. However, those who do so and then fall away are missing out. They will be saved by the skin of their teeth. Paul spoke about that and said that your life on earth will be tested by fire: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." 1 Corinthians 3:15 Unfortunately, I believe most of those poll responders either have simply pinned Christ's name to their chest and will be turned away or they will make it through without even the shirt on on their back. Don't be one who treats the title Christian as adornment. Treat it as the journey and lifelong commitment that it is. Cherish it. Strive to live up to it. Make it the one you would choose above all the others you have. Be a follower of Christ. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 19 22:42:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:42:30 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] It's All Part of the Plan Message-ID: <253ADC93-5E76-4921-B1BC-3E5681F094BE@clanwebb.com> It was raining as I sat at an open house this past Sunday. I must say, there were not a lot of lookers out and about so the four and half hours went by rather slowly. I did have a Sunday paper and it was the first time in a long time that I browsed it from cover to cover. There are some changes coming down the road, and they are not all bad. First, there was a cartoon which, of course, was the first place I went. It hit right to the heart about the fact that conservatives give to charities about a hundred times more than liberals, except when it comes to other people's tax money. I liked that. Next, there was an article about how big business is integrating room for people to talk about their faith to coworkers. It's not for trying to convert them, just to talk about it. How wonderful! After all, that is all we are supposed to do, because Jesus will do the rest. Next came a piece about scientists becoming concerned that the population, although impressed with science, is looking elsewhere to fulfill their lives. It included things like astrology, but it does mean people are looking. I'm not sure I understand what it all means, but I see God at work in His timeless fashion. Last, but not least, I was reading about the Mariners in spring training and how the manager thinks they might contend this year. Hey, have a little faith! "This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations." Isaiah 14:26 Have a week full of blessings, Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 20 22:28:06 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 22:28:06 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] See the Doctor Message-ID: <88547D25-3355-4733-9101-F2ED7BA3B28B@clanwebb.com> I hate being sick. I hate how it slows me down and gets in the way of life. There are those who live slow as a rule, so it doesn't disrupt them as much. That is certainly not me. I can deal with not feeling quite right. I can deal with taking the drugs and carrying around a box of tissues. I just get annoyed at how it breaks my rhythm and screws up my schedule. Part of that, no doubt, is that my work doesn't get done by someone else when I'm sick. It just waits for me and then backs up on me when I return. My frustration with being sick is such that I go into complete denial when it happens. I blame it on my allergies. I blame it a cold day or a dusty job. I blame the aches on a busy day at work. Anything to hold off admitting that I have a cold. The irony is that the longer I deny it, the longer I wait to treat it, and the longer it takes me to get over it. If I were to take the drugs and take a day off, I'd likely rebound faster. I end up feeling bad for a longer stretch and being less effective during that time than I normally would. It's a bad deal for me, for my family, and for my employer. How dumb is that? Oh, wait. That's right. I'm human. We do exactly the same thing when sin creeps into our life. I hate when this happens because it disrupts my relationship with Christ and with my family. I find myself being emotionally clumsy with my wife and creating rifts. I find myself getting less done at work. I feel run down because I'm growing distant from my Lord. I want to deny that sin is causing the problem, so I wait until it's blindingly obvious before I deal with it. "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Proverbs 28:13 "Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" ? and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." Psalm 32:5 Why, oh, why do we wait? Don't wait to deal with the illness. Confess and be healed immediately. You don't have to wait any more. We're human, so we resist it. Fight the urge to wait. Go see the Doctor and be healed. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Wed Feb 21 23:48:41 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:48:41 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Coming Home Message-ID: <1B13D6E9-2678-488D-9F0E-4EAE6A954F4A@clanwebb.com> I remember growing up on the farm and all the freedom that such a life allowed me. Land, barns, farm equipment, and any number of interesting geographical features were available for a boy to hide when the need arose. I can tell you that the bigger the need - in my case, the size of the offense - the sneakier I had to be in my selection of a hiding place. One of my best places was deep under the front porch. That way, I could pretty much tell where my mom was looking and where she was at any given moment. It was also close to a source of food and water if I needed to stay incognito for a while. Sooner or later, though, the cat and mouse game would end. The conclusion was always the same: I had to come in from the cold and face the music. At the beginning of each incident, there seemed to be a good place to hide, but I couldn't hold out forever and I eventually had to return home. So it is with God and His people. One sure sign that someone is saved is that you have seen them go through conviction. They are willing to share with you a time they ran and hid, but came home. The sure sign that someone isn't saved is when you see him run and hide and never return. "When they sin against you?for there is no one who does not sin?and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;" 2 Chronicles 6:36 That's one place you do not want to go. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Thu Feb 22 22:00:52 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:00:52 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Huddle Up Message-ID: <36D09504-E372-43A5-894C-B7FCD8BA9BAC@clanwebb.com> I played football in high school. I remember that one of the things I hated most was coming back to the huddle when my man had gotten past me and done some damage. Many of my fellow players would get all over me. They could get downright ugly in language and inference. It wasn't very good for my confidence. I wasn't the only one, though. Nobody was exempt, but I always tried to remember that, in one play, it could be me getting all of the unwanted attention. Playing defense was tough, dirty work and your picture was rarely in the annual or the newspaper. Sometimes, I feel like I am coming back to the huddle after letting Satan through the line. I expect to catch the full force of God's vengeance because Satan got past me and did some damage. But, instead, I get encouragement and assurance. I get another chance to be better, to be the best, and to win it all. "But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life." Luke 21:14-19 Break! Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sat Feb 24 00:25:41 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:25:41 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] (no subject) Message-ID: <56C6EFE5-E2DB-4B0C-A152-9AD9836EF289@clanwebb.com> There is nothing like the feeling a man has when he overcomes a sin. That feeling when it is far enough in the past and thoroughly confessed that you know it no longer has a hold on your life. I know two men. One is a man who overcame an addiction to alcohol. This is no small feat as a very small percentage of people that try actually make it. Another fellow that, on top of his addiction, lost his wife to an overdose of a common over-the-counter pain reliever. He struggles every day not only to maintain, but to break free. I pray for him often and give praise for each day that he can get by and regain lost ground. God holds both of these men in the palm of his hand: one free and one still a captive, but both are saved. One knows the joy of overcoming. The other is climbing the mountain. "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death." Revelation 2:11 "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son." Revelation 21:7 Keep striving, men. Keep coming and don't stop. It'll be worth it. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 25 00:07:17 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:07:17 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Wounds From a Friend Message-ID: <3BC43425-06F6-44D2-99E8-BD4A7BACC6AA@clanwebb.com> I am old enough now that I can look back on my life and review my wounds. I remember one in particular that happened while fishing on the Snake River. We were on a mission to hook a sturgeon. The rod is a short, stout affair with a double hook set up with herring as bait. My buddy was going to heave a monster cast out on the river and let it drift back into the hole we were fishing. He forgot to release the drag for the cast and the line acted like a bullwhip. The backlash embedded one of the hooks into my forearm. The hook, about three inches long, went into my flesh, past the barb, and then back out again. At this point we both knew there was going to be pain involved. I knew it was an accident because he was twice the fisherman I was and it was just one of those things. He sat me down and we joked for a moment or two to decide what to do next. If he cut the line and put me in the boat, we could be in town in an hour or so, but, by then, my arm would be the size of a watermelon and there would be a lot more pain in getting it out. Besides, I didn't want to ruin our trip. So, we made the only logical decision and that was that we should take it out ourselves. We came up with a pair of rusty side cutters and he clipped both ends of the hook and crimped the barb down. I shook and sweated like a hound dog with malaria as I watched him curl the hook out. It took half a bottle of distilled adult beverage to get me past the first phase, the extraction, and the other half of the bottle to convince myself that the rusty bait-encrusted hook wasn't going to produce gangrene. All in all it produced a good story and something to rib him about later, but I will tell you that it was painful. "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6 I would rather have had that wound come from a friend than all the slick words in the world from someone I could not trust. Know your friends and accept their wounds. Some may be intentional and for your own good and some may just be one of those things. Allen From wyatt at clanwebb.com Sun Feb 25 22:18:30 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 22:18:30 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Like Children Message-ID: While developing educational software, I've learned quite a bit, oddly enough. My expertise has always been in making the computer do what you want in the way you want. I've worked with quite a few folks, though, who know a lot about how children learn. There were some basic rules we had to play by if we wanted a child to actually learn from our software. Subtle changes could make the activities educationally powerful or very useless. One rule was that while the software would guide the child toward the right answer, it should never actually choose the correct answer for them. Each time the child made an incorrect answer, we would remove some of the choices and ask them again. After several tries, the only remaining choice would be the correct one. It was important that the child made the choice and got the reward, though, so we never did it for them. Another rule was that there were never any dead ends. No matter how far off course or how far away from the right solution the child got, there was a way back. There was always a way to solve the problem. After some years, I realize that these rules don't just work on children, they work on us, too. God gave us His Word, His Son, and His Spirit to guide us toward the right answers. He uses His followers to speak about Christ and share the Gospel to help guide unbelievers to the truth. But, at the end of the day, God does not force people to follow Him. They still have to make the right choice. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20 The man has to open the door. Christ will not barge in. God also makes sure that we always have a way back to Him. There is always a path away from sin and toward Him. There is always a solution that brings us closer to the truth. There is always a right choice. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 So, you see, God is simply teaching us like children. After all, that's how we should approach Him. Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Mon Feb 26 21:58:53 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:58:53 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Righteous Message-ID: "A loving God wouldn't punish me if I have good intentions." "I don't believe in your God, so I don't need to follow His rules." "I may blow it once in a while, but I'm much better than most other people. I'll get in to Heaven because I'm above average." Those who don't believe will often quote Scripture about how God is compassionate, loving, and forgiving. He is all of those things. However, He is also righteous and He is NOT contradictory. God will not be merciful to the point of being unrighteous. You can't hang your hat on His mercy without understanding His righteousness. "All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares." Romans 2:12-16 Whether you buy into His law or not, you are still subject to it and you will be judged and die by it if you cannot prove your holiness. You cannot plead ignorance because His truth has been written on your heart before you were born. You know His authority to be true and acting like you don't won't save you from judgement. Furthermore, Jesus Christ offers to take our death for us. He will make us holy by accepting the punishment that we were due. You cannot deny Jesus and claim eligibility for Heaven. It just won't happen. God showed His mercy and love by sending Jesus to pay the price for our sin. God showed His righteousness by accepting that payment before letting us into His kingdom. God is merciful and righteous. God is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can't accept the part of His nature that you like and ignore the part you don't like. God loves you and will hold you accountable for your actions. Would you want to depend on the logic displayed above? Or, would you want to depend on the promise of Christ? Wyatt From wyatt at clanwebb.com Tue Feb 27 22:37:42 2007 From: wyatt at clanwebb.com (Wyatt Webb) Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:37:42 -0800 Subject: [Daily Push Up] Manhood Message-ID: <745B5D15-F7E6-4792-BAC7-521FD4DA2CB5@clanwebb.com> Not too long ago, I read "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. I loved the way he ferreted out the idea that God designed men to be the adventurous, dangerous, and strong men we all aspire to be. It's not just all that testosterone that causes it (well, maybe that's what causes it, but it's there for a reason), God designed us that way. If you asked for examples of the man my father aspired to be, he'd probably talk about the TV and movie representations of Tarzan, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and most of John Wayne's roles. I would point to characters like Captain Kirk, Han Solo, Rambo, and Tom Cruise as an F-14 pilot. (I don't want to be in the same zip code with Tom Cruise, now, on the off chance that crazy is contagious.) What is clear from these names and characters is the utter manliness in each of these roles. There's a desire to be strong, capable, and respected by your friends and enemies alike. Most, if not all, of these characters were also good guys. When the chips were down, you knew they'd do the right thing. I laugh when people suggest that becoming a Christian means throwing that all away and becoming some sort of lukewarm, monotone wimp. God designed us that way. He didn't do it just so we'd have to ignore it when we chose to follow Him. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Getting saved does not mean giving up your manhood. It means finding real manhood. After all, following Christ means you're learning at the feet of The Man. Wyatt