Elevators

I have had so many classic experiences while riding an elevator:

The time my parents taught my siblings and I the elevator jump. "If you time it right you can catch hang time like Jordan" - Dad.

The time we snuck onto the girls floor in college and lit off handfuls (5 of us double fisting as many as we could hold) of M80s. I'll never forget jumping back in the elevator to go down to our floor when they exploded and literally caused the elevator to shut down. We were stuck! And the award for worlds dumbest criminals goes to...... (drum roll)

The awkward ride with the bell man. Or, the "who farted" ride up to the 13th floor.

The singing. The dancing. The kissing.  Even the times of talking to myself or picking my nose. You get the point. We all ride elevators. And we all do a variety of different things both on the way up and on the way down.

The same is true with life. Sometimes we're going up and some times we're going down. Other times we're flat out stuck! Some rides are enjoyable while others are miserable. And what you do between levels plays a major role. Take my experiences for example:

The elevator jump: making the right decision at the right time is key.
The M80s ride: poor decisions can bring life to a halt.
The "who farted" ride: what you do affects those around you.
The Singing, Dancing and Kissing: life needs rejoicing, expression of self and love.
The talking to yourself ride: personal conversations and reflections are a must.
The picking your nose ride: some things we do are flat our embarrassing.

We all have dreams and we all have goals. Pin point the level in life you desire to be at and then begin taking into consideration all the things you will do on the ride up. In doing so, also pay attention to the things that could very well bring you down or to a halt.

The Hangover Part 2

Yesterday Kristin and I took our daughter Riley to the movie theatre for the first time to see “Cars 2!” To our surprise this was a great experience. Riley got in free, behaved very well, the movie was good and theatre popcorn always makes the experience complete. Yet something prior to the movie took place that struck a powerful thought in my mind.

As we approached the usher with our tickets he informed us that our show would be in theatre #11 and not to be fooled by the sign that reads “Theatre #11 - The Hangover Part 2.” For those of you unfamiliar with this popular film, The Hangover Part 2 is a story about a group of friends hung over from the night before and unable to remember what has taken place they retrace their steps through drugs, violence, alcohol and sex in order to find their missing friend. This film is not rated PG.

As a pastor I am well aware of the aquarium we live in. And as we passed below the sign that read “The Hangover Part 2” I couldn’t help but laugh when thinking of someone witnessing Kristin and I walking into a theatre with our 19 month old daughter appearing to go see a rated R movie known for it’s profanity, violence, drugs, alcohol and strong sexual content. Something like this could really score some points in a circle of gossip. Imagine if this person was thinking on their toes and snapped a photo of us beneath the sign as proof. I arrive at this extent only because this has actually happened to me while sitting at a bar in Applebee’s trying to talk a husband into going home to save his marriage.

The point is this; what appears to be obvious and evident sometimes isn’t even close to the truth. The question that flooded my mind while watching “Cars 2” with my family was this; am I guilty of wrongfully accusing someone of something that wasn’t true despite the proof I felt I possessed?

In the book of Acts God is doing something incredible in some people’s lives and nearby witnesses accuse them of being drunk. A moment of beauty is mistaken for the exact opposite. I believe God urges us to allow him to be the judge in order to alleviate us from the stress and hassle we face when attempting a task beyond our capacity. It’s as if he’s saying, “I’ll handle this, you simply hope for the best in people.” For once again God chooses to center his people around hope and love.

A trip to the movies served as a valuable reminder and reflection for me personally and in writing this I hope it will do the same for you. In result, my prayer is that we will find ourselves centered around hope and love. For further reading check out Matthew 7.

I Told You So

Most everyone has experienced an “I told you so” moment. And most everyone would agree it’s one of the most annoying and frustrating phrases to hear. There’s something so irritating about someone boldly predicting a future outcome in your life that you initially disagree with, yet as time progresses you yourself prove them to be right. You yourself create the opportunity for them to say “I told you so.”

The reason why this is so irritating is simple. We hate accepting the fact that someone other than ourselves has a greater foreknowledge of the decisions we make and outcomes they create. We can’t stand it when someone else is right when we so badly wanted them to be wrong.

Someone who has an incredible foreknowledge of our decisions and outcomes is Satan himself. And though we would hate for him to be right, we often prove his predictions to be spot on. Take Adam and Eve for example. The magnitude of their decision in the Garden never seems to cross their mind. The possible outcome never seems to be considered. Sadly to say, Satan did know the magnitude of their decision and his prediction was proven to be true by Adam and Eve.

What Satan is aware of here that Adam and Eve seem to overlook is the power of our decisions. He understands that with every decision we make we create a ripple effect in the world we live in. For Adam and Eve, their decision altered the course of humanity and I believe ours will do the same. Furthermore Satan knows the devastation we ourselves are capable of bringing into the world through the very decisions we ourselves make. And with this knowledge he seeks to delegate injustice to us and through our decisions.

Don’t you hate the fact that Satan employs us to accomplish his plan?

On the contrary God’s word predicts drastically different outcomes as a result of our lives aligning to scripture. And God’s predictions are awesome! So awesome that you actually delight in him saying “I told you so.” For as believers we long for the day when he says to us “well done thy good and faithful servant.” Which let’s be honest. What he is saying is “Well done. I knew you could do it. Didn’t I tell you this day would come?” In which our response will be “you were right, you told me so.”

So choose wisely and take into consideration the ripple effect you will be creating. Ask yourself the question; who would I rather hear say “I told you so,” God or Satan?