be light

In the ABSENCE of light, darkness prevails.  Jesus called us the light of the world.  We turn on the TV and see so much darkness and pain and wonder "Where is God in all this?"  But I wonder if He is saying the same thing.  "Where are my people in all this?"  God has called us and given us His power to be light in a dark world.  As we move forward with His light, the darkness scatters.  The enemy uses fear and intimidation to keep the believers restrained.  But if we will just move forward toward that darkness, we will see it dissipate right before our eyes.  Where in your world is God's light needing to shine through you?

completed

This past weekend, a good friend of mine (Gary Fowler) and myself completed an Ironman triathlon.  (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run)  I can't put into words how grueling this race really is.  It is truly a battle of the mind and body.  You have to push yourself far beyond comfort and through several different levels of constant punishing pain.  There are points when you feel like the race will never end and your mental toughness has to be strong or this race will break you.  But....when you cross that finish line...I can't explain the sense of accomplishment.  I almost started crying out of sheer emotional and physical exhaustion.  To know that when you pushed yourself to your physical limits, you prevailed.  I praise God for the strength to accomplish this.  To Him be all the glory!

the moment of truth

This weekend is the moment of truth.  Myself and Gary Fowler our exec. dir. at C3 have both been training for an Ironman distance Triathlon.  That's a 2.4 swim on a lake / 112 miles on a bike / 26.2 mile run.  In other words when the sun comes up, the gun goes off and when the sun goes down we will still be running.  I'm hoping to be in the 12hr range.  This race pushes you beyond your limits until you are staring into the depths of you soul.  When you push that far, you find out who you really are.  This race will be my 2nd Ironman distance triathlon and I'm praying for God's strength.  The moment of truth, is right around the corner.  I'm anticipating the battle to come....within myself!

self-deceit

Demosthenes said: "Nothing is easier than self-deceit.  For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true."
In what area's have we deceived ourselves?  It is beyond difficult to answer that question for ourselves. But how would others answer that for us?  Those close to us and those who may only be acquaintances.

off the grid

Last week, myself and 7 guys in the brotherhood went to the boundary waters for a 4 day canoe trip between Minnesota and Canada.  It was incredible.  We had perfect weather and a great time.  To be able to take off the electronic leash and unplug from the web was so refreshing.  I feel like I have come back revived.  When I am in the woods, I feel like everywhere I look, I see God.  A-MAZING!

ReGospel

We need to ReGospel our lives continually.  This means continually examining our lives to see if we are in line with the Gospel of Jesus.  We can naturally drift into being apathetic, cynical, comfortable and selfish.  It's almost like a tire alignment.  You get them all aligned and everything is cool until you hit a couple big potholes and then they have to be realigned again.  We live in a culture that is counter to the Gospel and must continually ReGospel our lives.

application

I workout at a gym, and over the years it has been amazing to watch people's bodies transform.  I have seen several obese people drop enough weight to equal a Jr higher!  Most people though, don't change. The reason is because they work out hard, and then leave only to undo everything they did.  They can't drive past the McDonalds on the way home without stopping and grabbing something.
Many people do this with church.  They worship, repent, give and then head home only to live completely opposite of what they have just heard and perhaps even professed.  So just like exercise is not enough with out eating right, so going to church without living it out during the week is self-defeating.
#ashleydukeman