As I was sitting down to lunch recently with a friend of mine we began discussing some big decisions that he had coming up in his life. We were discussing the scripture in psalms which says, the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23) and the common misconceptions of that scripture. I have spoken with many people who understand that to mean that people can go through life, living for God in some ways and God will always bless their path because God will order their steps as they go. On the contrary, that means something much deeper. It truly means that before the world began, God set forth a path for your success where every need you have is met and though it may not be easy, all of the provision you will need is on it. Our job is to seek God to find that path, not to make our own.

As we continued to discuss this with reference to his particular situation, the question was asked, how do you hear from God? An excellent question. He continued, I want to go down the path God has for me but how do I find out for sure that it is that path? As I began to sit and think about the times in my life and through my study of scripture I thoughtfully considered how I would answer his question. Now, this may not be the most complete or comprehensive answer but I believe it is substantial enough to show us the way and honestly is how I know that I have heard from God in my life. Most of us will not be fortunate enough to hear the audible voice of God, out loud, which is probably a good thing because I am sure that it would scare the crap out of us, literally. But I do believe there are four ways to hear from God when it comes to making daily decisions as well as life changing ones.

First, quiet prayer. I believe that we must ask God which way He wants us to go and then do a novel idea, shut up and listen. We all have that still small voice that I believe God speaks to us through. Some may call it a conscience, but when you hear from God, you will receive the peace of God in your life with regards to this decision because you took the time to slow down, ask, and listen.

Second, reading the Word. The Bible is God breathed and inspired for direction in our lives. It has the answer that you may have been searching for. So many times, we think that there is so much to it and we miss the opportunity to find guidance through reading scripture, but it should never be something that we take for granted.

Thirdly, going to church. When I step into a church service (no matter where) I go in with the mind set that God is going to speak to me through the message that day. All of what is said may not apply, but something can be confirmed through the teaching of scripture, the confirmation of a Godly brother/sister, or through the Spirit during a time of worship. Though it may be overlooked, God is still alive in church services all over the world today.

Lastly, laying a fleece before God. It worked for Gideon in the Old Testament, God will allow it to work for us. Ask God to close the doors that should not be open and open the ones that should be. Ask God to supernaturally intercede in the guidance of your decision to help you go the right way. God is looking for your willing and open Spirit, He will be there to help.

If you are faced with some difficult day to day decisions or life altering choices right now, try and seek God through these ways. They may not be the only ones, but they are definitely a place to start. Blessing to you.

As I have been going through the process of attempting to purchase a home, I have seen just how bad the economy is. It is now no longer possible to get approved for a loan without being a circus animal and jumping through dozens of hoops. As the process has gone, I have gotten more and more frustrated and was struggling more and more. That peeked this morning as I have to miss more work to go and meet with my loan officer. As I sat in the classroom of the High School I work at, I was struggling to motivate to do anything.

As the door opened and one of the members of Student Council walked in, I didn’t really have any desire to even acknowledge him and just wanted to continue with my lesson. He then asked “Would you like a donut, coffee and a t-shirt.” My immediate response was yes. Student Council was starting something for the teachers called Operation Kindness. They recognized that with budget cuts and the year getting to the final stretch, many teachers and staff members are beginning to burn out. They are simply going around with coffee, donuts, and staff t-shirts.

As I sat eating my delicious Krispy Kreme donut and drinking my starbucks coffee, I couldn’t help but feel better. The circumstances of my frustration hadn’t changed, but “Operation Kindness” had brightened my day.

As I continued to dwell on how a simple pastry and coffee could change my day, I began to think of how displays of kindness could really change a life. How many times do we have the opportunity to change some body’s day by holding the door open? Carrying their groceries? Just giving a smile? We never know what kind of day someone is having, or what kind of profound effect we could have on their lives.

As Christians, our goal is to have a profound effect on people’s lives. It is to show them the love of Jesus through our words and our actions. We are commanded to show that love in 1 Peter 1:22 when it says “You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.” I hope and pray that you seek and find opportunities to show love to one another in the coming days. People are struggling and are looking for good.

Trying to work my own Operation Kindness…

I just returned home from a long day at work. This morning seemed like days ago. I work at a shelter for at-risk teenage boys. Drug addicts. Gangsters. Abused. homeless. At the school there is an extensive farm for young men to learn about responsibility and hard work. It’s amusing. It’s exhausting. This morning I took 6 students to complete the daily chores at the farm.

In some ways going to the farm refreshes me. Like this morning, I was watching the students feed the goats. I noticed one goat in particular. The large pen holding the goats is divided by a fence, splitting the pen in half. In the center of the dividing fence was an open gate, allowing the goats to freely enter the other side where the students were placing leaves of hay or alfalfa (I don’t remember what exactly goats eat and I’m praying the students knew when they fed them). In one section of the fence was a hole about the size of a “half-goat.” This particular goat was attempting to squeeze and finagle his way through, not realizing that just a few feet away was a wide open gate. Of course, in my over-analytical state of mind, I could see the potential sermon fodder taking place right before my eyes!

It’s a bitter-sweet opportunity working where I work. I see teenagers all day long. They’re just like any other teens I’ve met in my years of youth ministry. They make me laugh. They make me proud. They frustrate me. One thing in common with these young men? manipulation. They are all masters of manipulation. They now how to finagle through situations to escape accountability. That’s what they know. If only they knew.

“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber,” (John 10:1). Jesus cannot be manipulated. He is judge of all souls. At the heart of sin is manipulation. I think that’s why God hates sin so much because it is an attempt to manipulate Him. Lust manipulates love. Greed manipulates blessings. Murder manipulates life. Sin attempts to manipulate God into getting what we want of him rather than us giving what he wants of us. Church-goers are not much different. We’ve learned over the years how to manipulate as well. We’ve twisted worship into one hour on Sunday mornings. We try to convince God and ourselves that we somehow are worthy of His love by the good things we’ve done. How easily we forget God’s holiness and righteousness alone is the basis for our good works. May we never forget our complete dependancy on Jesus Christ’s righteousness, given to us through His sacrifice on the cross, for the salvation of our souls. And may we never get stuck in the fence of manipulation. The gate is wide open. Jesus has clearly opened it and allowed us to freely enter and feast on His goodness. “I am the Gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” Enough said.

As I was driving home I heard a song on one of the local country stations that has been out for a little while now called You Find Out Who Your Friends Are by Tim McGraw and a couple of other guys. The jist of the song is the idea that you truly do find out who your friends are when the crap hits the fan. Who stands by your side, who leaves you hanging, who is there for you, who takes off or doesn’t return your phone calls. All that said, it made me think what does it mean to truly be a friend?

We know so many people anymore these days. We know people at work, we know people at home, we know people at church, people from our kids’ schools or sports activities, we know people from the restaurants, coffee shops or other marketplaces that we frequent. How many of them do you consider to be friends?

In scripture we see the idea of friendship in multiple places. For example, no greater love have men than this, that he lay his life down for a friend. I think that this should be our true example of friendship. Mostly people have used this in the context of Christ giving up His life for us, or us in turn dying for someone that we would consider a friend. I want us to think of this scripture in a much broader text. Laying your life down can be any sacrifice that you willingly give up for those around you. If God has asked us to love others as we love ourselves, calling this the second greatest commandment, what are we doing to love those around us? Ask yourself a few of these questions:

What type of friend are you?

What have you laid down for your friends lately?

Are you always taking or do you give as well?

What are your friends going through right now that you could help with?

We all know people that just take, take, take and never give back to the people around them. We may love them deeply but we all know that these are the worst friends to have in your life. Are you one of those people? Let us strive to always be friends that lay down our lives for those around us, that is Christ-like friendship.

As many of us sat and watch the Presidential Inauguration of Barack H. Obama today, we heard over and over again the phrase “a moment in history.” People see this as a moment that will never be forgotten because of the hardships and battles fought to obtain equality amongst the races. President Obama is the first African-American President in the history of the United States.

A lot of people have a problem recognizing someone from a different political party as president. People struggle recognizing someone who they did not vote for as their leader. As we move forward from this momentous occasion in this country, it is important to remember what is told to us about authority. In Romans 13:1, we are told, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

I assure you, there is a reason for President Obama’s election to the position of Commander-in-Chief, just like there was for Former President George W. Bush, William Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and all those who preceded them. I don’t know what God’s plan is, but I know that we are called to recognize President Obama as our appointed authority, and treat him with respect. We are called to look to him as our leader. We are called to remember that he is a man, and is not faultless. President Obama will make mistakes, but we are called to submit to authority.

As we move forward, I hope that everyone will take the time to pray for our country, and more specifically the leadership of our country. We are facing hard times and it will take a great commitment to God and the people of the United States to overcome these hard times.

Praying for Our Leadership…

Well 2009 is in full swing and with a new year comes a wonderful time to reprioritize, make a bunch of foolish new years resolutions that we will never stick with, and perhaps set some truly realistic small goals for your life which could help you grow and move forward in all areas of your life.

After being a couple of weeks into this year, I am amazed at the feeling of renewal and hope that is in the air. It seemed as though we ended last year as a society with the mentality that we could not wait for the year to be over. Now nothing has changed really except the day, but all around us we see the hope, optimism, and looking forward to the future that should have been there all along. I dont know why, but I do know that I have seen it.

As a church group, I have seen this as well. We are amping up for some new things and the closeness of attaining some goals that we have set for quite some time. There is a renewed spirit to the vision of what we can attain with the help of God and each other. I dont just think, I believe with all of my heart that 2009 will be the greatest year that our church and the church as a whole has seen in a long time. It would appear that now, more than ever before we are coming into the end of times, and things are going to get worse around us, but God is going to pour out His Spirit on those whom are His remnant, His chosen people who serve Him with their lives. We might not be able to change everything around us, i.e. the direction of the country and government, the agenda pushing news media, and the decline of morality in society. But here is what we can do, we can save the world, one life at a time. The strength is their for you, through God; the outlet is their for you, through the church; there becomes just one thing left to do, move!

May the end of this year be one that we look back on in awe, not wanting it to end because of all of the success that God has brought us! Happy New Year!

If I were to describe the last six months in the Busick family, in one word, I would have to say, “horizo,” pronounced, “hor-id’-zo.” Horizo is the Greek word in the New Testament that translates into English words or phrases, such as: to mark out definitely, declare, or determine. It is where we derive the English word, horizon. Horizo also refers to God’s power in ordination of people, visions, direction, and purposes. In Romans 1:4, Jesus was “declared (horizo) with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead…”

This year marked a new horizon for our family as we relocate to Arizona and join the FCC team. It has been a year of events that have brought about a determined direction. This transitional period, though it may not be noticeable to some, may be something that, as we look back in years to come, will be recognized as being an epic adventure full of risk, disappointments, discovery and development; the makings of a great road trip.

Think about your favorite landscape picture of a horizon. What do you think of? A beach sunset? The first glance at the mountains in the distant? I think of our drive from Kansas to the Phoenix valley to visit my in-laws. This must be the best drive in the United States. I can see why Route 66 is such a nostalgic part of American history. The time traveling flies by, primarily because the scenery between Eastern New Mexico and Phoenix is constantly changing with each new horizon; the glimpse of lonely mountains around Tucumcari; the valley of Albuquerque lights peeking around the mountains; the black volcanic rock against the red rolling cliffs of western New Mexico; the forest of petrified trees and dinosaur statues of Holbrook; and the crescendo of bushes and Alpines that lead to a sudden burst of mountains and valleys that envelop Pine and Payson. Can you hear an Aaron Copeland composition in the background? And then there’s “The Valley,” and all of its Saguaro giants. Wouldn’t it be pointless to see all of that at once? It’s too much to take in. So the drive becomes a slow, marked-out discovery; an adventure. I can’t see the Saguaros while driving in Santa Rosa, NM. I lose sight of the Yellowhorse Trading Post after turning the bend towards Winslow, AZ. That’s an amazing characteristic of our Creator; namely His sovereign ability of putting limits on what we see what we experience and when we move in life. I’m so glad the Spirit marks those limits. Horizons make the journey worth it.

That’s where faith and trust come in. Though often faith in Christ is seen as something for the week and broken (and rightfully so), it also acts as a tool of action for the bold and courageous. Those who choose to rise to the challenge of following Christ in His life and mission find themselves on an epic adventure full of risk, disappointments, discovery and development: the makings of a great spiritual journey. Faith is just packing the car and leaving the driveway. Horizons make the journy worth it.

Becoming what the world so despirately needs…

Although I often try to buck the trend and not write about what everyone else is, I find that God has laid on my heart to write about the same thing as everyone else… The holidays. Certainly all of us who have been to a church in the past couple weeks have heard a phrase or slogan along the lines of “Keep Christ in Christmas,” or “He is the reason for the season.”

I want to throw a quick reminder of what Christmas is out there. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ (God’s one and only son). It is the celebration of Jesus coming to the Earth so that 33 years later we would have the opportunity to be totally and completely forgiven and found blameless of sin in God’s eyes.

Often, people remember the reason for the season being giving. I am not taking anything away from this viewpoint, because God gave Jesus to us, and the Wise men came to Jesus bearing gifts. Where do we draw this line of giving though?

There is no question that as a nation, we are in an economic crisis. So when we think about the reason of Christmas being giving, are we really looking for it to be related to financial burden? I overheard a landlord talking today about one of their tenants who failed to pay their rent because they felt the need to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Christmas presents. I am amazed and appalled at this thought at the same time. I am amazed that someone would have totally missed the point of Christmas, and appalled that their priorities would be that out of line.

As we move closer to December 25th, I want to encourage you to re-evaluate what Christmas is. Is it really about getting someone the biggest, best, most expensive gift? Or is it going humbly before someone you love with whatever you can give. Is it about buying stuff, or is it about celebrating the birth of our Savior? I pray that you would consider your financial burden of present and future as you finish your Christmas shopping, and that you would remember that Christmas is about Christ, not presents.

Praying you have a wonderful Christmas and a safe Holidays!!!

Tis the season for cliche after cliche about how Jesus is the reason and no Christmas without Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I do agree with most every saying and word phrase or pun that we have come up with about Christmas, but the more common a thing becomes to us, the more it loses the impact of its truth.

Today I don’t want to bring you all of the cool things to say or coined phrases but I want to challenge all of us in a few areas for this Christmas season:

1. Its up to you to bring Christ in.

Whether it is the new age or post modern movements, government or political correctness, we all know that everywhere we turn, someone is trying to take Christ out of Christmas. While we might not be able to change the world by ourselves, there is a simple solution to this problem; don’t let them. Read the birth of Christ story in Luke 2 this year, pray over dinner, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, start or continue a holiday tradition that involves Christ in the festivities.

2. Use this time as a catalyst to appreciate Christ more.

As you read the Christmas story, you can’t help but have the thought that Christ knew what he would go through before he came. The amazing thing about that is…He still came! Use this thought and the many other spiritual truths of this time of celebration and remembrance, as a catalyst to living a deeper life of appreciation for Christ Himself. He deserves our thoughts and attention not just on Christmas day, but everyday of the year.

3. Take a time to reflect on where God has brought you this year.

As 2008 winds down to a close, we must take time to think on all of the wonderful and not so wonderful things that have gone on over this year. What were some victories this year? What were some learning opportunities? How have you changed over the last year? Where has God been evident? Where might He have been working behind the scenes? To learn and understand more about God and our relationship with Him, it helps to reflect on all of the things that He has done for you.

4. Take time to set some goals for the year to come.

As we have recently learned, no man is promised tomorrow, but if you were blessed by God enough to live for another year what would you like to accomplish? Spiritually? Personally? Financially? At work? At church? With your family? Perhaps you might even write some of these things down and at put them away until this time next year and use them as the beginning to this process next year. Honor God over these holidays and spend your time valuing what is truly important to you.

Of course…Labor Day is over, Halloween has come and gone, Thanksgiving has left it’s excess in your fridge, Christmas is around the corner, and before you know it, we will all be writing 2009 on our checks (if you still use these out dated pieces of numbers). But whatever happened to the “Y2K” freak out? How about “the artist formerly known as Prince” and his 1999 party? Ever sit back and realize how fast time is really moving?

I remeber as a kid thinking that 3 months over the summer was like an enternity. Now 3 months isn’t even enough time to paint my bathroom. We just get so busy some times that the amount of time we spend on the insignificant really should challenge us more than it does. Do you find yourself wishing you had more time off? more time for family? more time for yourself? more time to vacation? to hike? Why do we so easily put off til tomorrow the things we should have time for today?

I remeber a poem in the bathroom of my wife’s home growing up that went like this (don’t ask me why I remeber the whole thing, weird I know):

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow
For when babies grow up
They will learn to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs
Dust go to sleep
I’m rockin’ my baby
and babies don’t keep

Such a simple little country saying that has more spiritual truth than the dirty house it is referring to. We often times over value the wrong things and neglect the things or people that really matter.

Over the next month we are going to be spending some time considering our lives as if we only had 30 days to live. What we do differently? Who would we make sure we spend time with? What would our relationship with God look like? How much would we make sure our loved ones knew we loved them? Would you worry about work as much? Would you focus on material things? Would time be more valuable?

The truth is that though none of us can ever know when our number will be called, but we need to begin to live as if it was coming up sooner than we expect it to. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. None of us are promised another year, but we are all promised an enternal destiny that guarantees us endless tomorrows. The question is when is your 30 days?

Spend some time over the holidays this year and make sure you are doing your best to prioritze your time and your the things and people you value. Commit to never lose sight of the true meaning of the HOLIDAYS!

Anticipating the Holidays,

Mike Clack