The Royal Treatment

This past weekend Mary and I were able to attend one of the Market Street Cooking School events featuring the Royal Chef – Darren McGrady. In the world of cooking Darren is one of the most talented chefs on the planet and his presentation was informative, inspiring and hilarious. For those who do not know, Darren was once the chef for t he Queen of England and he was also the personal chef to Diana, Princess of Wales until her death. The food which he prepared for the class was definitely some of the best food I have eaten in my life.

One of the things which stood out in Darren’s presentation and preparation of the food is the sense you feel in the room that he is preparing your food in much the same way he would prepare a meal for the Queen. Every detail was so important to him right down to making sure the food was plated perfectly.

During our experience Darren was asked if he would be willing to move back to England and cook for the Royal Family again. He quickly said no at least not full time. He went on to explain that he did not cook for the Queen for the money because the money was not that good. He cooked for the Queen for the honor of serving the Queen of England.

Here is a question for you to consider, what is your motivation for doing whatever it is you do each day? Is it merely for the money? Fame? To pay the bills or put food on the table? Do you do what you do in a cheerful way being happy to serve or work in your capacity? For those of us who are Americans we don’t have a King or Queen to serve and we will most likely never get called to serve a President, but should our service to others or our work be any less than our best?

For those who are Christ followers the daily call to serve our neighbor as if we were serving the Lord should be foremost in our mind. Think about it…what if you and I went about our work as if we were working for Jesus Christ? What if the quality of our service or our work was always at the level of near perfection as if the person we were serving or the boss we were working for was our Lord and Savior? In a very real way that is what you and I are called to do in our daily walk as a Christ follower.

Darren said one more thing that impressed me,(and I’m paraphrasing) “it is not just the fact you want to please the Queen it is the fact that your attitude reflects the fact that you want to please the Queen”. So here is your Monday morning attitude check… read Philippians 2:5-8 and make you day one of cheerful service to the King!

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Love God. Go Love Others.

The Most Interesting Man in the World

Chances are if you watch television to any degree you have seen the commercials presented by Dos Equis which feature the Most Interesting Man in the World. You know the ones where they show this older bearded man doing different adventurous types of things and they have comments about him such as, “He is the life of parties he has never attended”, “If he were to punch you in the face, you’d have to fight off the urge to thank him.”, “Sharks Have a week dedicated to him.” Then the announcer say’s “He is the most interesting man in the world”. Even though these are commercials for beer you have to admit that it has been a clever ad campaign.
After watching these commercials on television for some time I now wonder if those types of things really qualify as interesting and would they in a real life situation really grab someone’s attention or would people just think, “That guy is weird!” The question then arises, what makes a person interesting and who determines the level of interests. I do know that certain tabloids make billions of dollars annually taking advantage of the curiosity of people and their desire to read about “interesting” people.
There are truly some amazing people in the world who are truly interesting. Some are in small business, some are in politics, so are creative spirits who touch the world in unique ways, some are incredibly generous and kind to the community around them, some are authors, teachers, and mentors who touch one life at a time or the lives of many all at once. Yes, in this world there are truly some amazing and interesting people.
There is just one person though who has caught the interests of millions of people for hundreds of generations. That person is Jesus Christ. The commercial would go something like this… He once turned water into wine to make his mother proud. He rides a boat to cross the lake, but doesn’t need one. He once fed thousands of people with someone else’s lunch. He is the most interesting man in the world. The difference is that Jesus really did those things and Jesus really is the most interesting man in the world.
Jesus did some truly amazing things while he walked on planet earth. He touches people in ways that changes their lives forever. He gave the world direct access to God the Holy Father. He developed in mankind a thirst for truth and the spirit of God. He created within mankind a hunger for righteousness and understanding of God and His word. He placed in the hearts of men a desire to live just like him. I think that Jesus would look into the eyes of those who had a heart to follow him daily and say, “Stay thirsty my friends.” That is my encouragement to you today – to stay thirsty for the life Jesus has called you to live. To stay hungry for the bread of life that gives you strength for each day of deliberate discipleship.
Love God. Go Love Others.

Wreck on the Way to Happen

Not too long ago I was on my way home following a mid-week service with our church family. It was a dark cloudy evening and the streets were just a little damp from the light rain, which was falling. I was traveling south on the highway, a white mini van was in front of me and the drive home was for the moment much the same as any other drive home on a Wednesday night. Then it happened, the mini van began swerving and braking and I also pushed the brake on my red truck. The mini van was able to swerve into the next lane, and then I saw first hand what was causing the problem. Just in front of my truck was a large fifth wheel trailer running with out taillights or any other lights. As a matter of fact the truck pulling this large trailer was also missing taillights. This was a wreck on the way to happen.

Now for the ironic part of this story, the trailer was loaded with wrecked cars that had been smashed and they were on their way to a salvage yard or a metal recycling center to be melted down into something other than a car. I thought to myself, is this driver just out trying to find more wrecks to add to his load? Since I was able to get around this driver safely I found the whole thing both scary and funny at the same time. The idea of a truck pulling a trailer fully loaded with wrecked cars possibly being responsible for causing other wrecks …. I was beginning my thought process about how to turn this event into an article when I drove up behind another truck pulling a trailer with a car on it. This time it was all different, the trailer and truck were well lit with all the proper tail lights and markers and flashing yellow strobes. The car it was carrying had been in a wreck, but this car was being taken to a local body shop for repairs.

It’s just funny how life lessons are everywhere around you. Within in just a couple of miles of each other were two trucks pulling trailers with wreck cars on them. One truck was taking cars to be further smashed and melted down and the other truck was taking a car to be restored and made as good as new.

That is the way life is every day. Satan is looking for wrecked lives to add to his collection so he can take them away and turn them into something they were never created to become. Then there is Jesus who is also looking for wrecked lives, but he gently picks them up and cares of them and restores them like new again. Jesus restores them into the life they were created to live.

Some who are reading this may be thinking their life is one big wreck and how could anyone love what I have become and how can my life be fixed? Well I am here to tell you some good news; you are just the sort of person Jesus is looking for. He specializes in turning wrecked lives into brand new lives full of hope, peace, purpose and love. So what do you say, turn your life over to Jesus and let him change you into the person you were created to be.

Love God. Go Love Others.

My Father's Voice

As I reflect upon my life’s journey I remember a small white house next door to the church where my father preached in Carlsbad, New Mexico. It was there I first heard my father’s voice. A voice of love, compassion, humor and instruction. Though out the years my brothers and I listened to the voice of my father has be gave us instruction about how to be a pleasing son, a faithful Christian, a faithful and loving husband and father. The instruction we received was not so much the kind you get around the kitchen table although there was plenty of those occasions. The instruction we received from my father was given to us as we experienced life with my father and mother.

You would be surprised how many lessons about life you can receive by doing yard work or working in a vegetable garden or spending time on the lake fishing. Everyday chores and activities were opportunities to teach and shape the lives of my brothers and me. We also had a front row seat as we witnessed my mother and father ministering to soldiers going off to war or helping families who needed food and comfort. The lessons of life were everywhere around us and my parents made sure that their three sons learned them well.

That process has been the formula for raising faith children through out the ages. The process of fathers and mothers consistently living out their faith in front of their children and teaching them to seek out, listen to, and follow the voice of God. Deuteronomy 6:4 reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

So for those who are parents, grandparents, guardians, or anyone who has children in their care, you are to be the voice of God who teaches and shapes the lives of the children given to you by God. Live out your faith in real and meaningful ways on a daily basis. Be intentional in your daily walk with God as you witness to your family that your faith is real and alive and active.

Help your children to discover that there is only One Voice that has been there from the very beginning of time. One Voice who knows you better than anyone and One Voice who loves you more than you will ever know. This Voice promises hope, acceptance, mercy, grace and love now and forever.

Love God. Go Love Others.