Jim Forman is the lead pastor at Sedley Baptist in Virginia.  Jim is, I think, the first person to ever read my blog and has come to be a great friend.  You can find him daily On the Brink of Something Large where he writes about his thoughts on leadership, pastoring, and his daily walk.  You can also follow him on twitter @jim4man.

I would like to thank Michael for asking me to step in today and guest post.  It is an honor and a privileged to be able to share on The Perkins Blog.

Have you ever had a zit?  Maybe you call them pimples.  I am sure you have at least had one in your life or maybe two.  Well, I was luckier than most because I had an over abundance of them in my life.  I just did not have the little black or white head zits though, I had mammoth ones.  At the age of about 14, I had probably the worst case of acne any of you have seen or it would have rivaled the worse you have ever seen.  For me, I just did not have acne but I had what the doctor called sever cystic acne.  It would be a zit but it would be huge and it would swell up and it looked nasty.  I just would not have them one at a time I might I have 20 to 50 of them.  When they were gone they would leave a scar.  I to this day carry a plethora scars on my face, neck, and back.  The acne left what look craters on those areas.  As a matter of fact, I had a Drill Sargent during basic training call me Crater the whole time.  It was bad news for me on many different levels.

Now you may be wondering why I am tell you all this.  Well, when I was a teen boy I hated to look in the mirror.  When I looked in the mirror I saw what I looked like and I did not like it at all.  I avoided looking in mirrors because I did not want to be reminded of the ugliness that I saw but I never understood how I really looked. As I thought about all this, I began to wonder if that is why some people do not read their Bible.  They might read a devotional or something along those lines but not necessarily their Bible.  The Bible in James 1:23 tells us this:  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror.  What does that mean?  Let me share what Adrian Rogers said about this:  We glance at the Word of God. Many people even call this glance their “morning devotions.” We open the book, glance, say “I’ve done my duty—a dose a day keeps the devil away,” then we’re on our way. But we’ve not really looked into the Word of God. We snatch a look in the Book. We don’t pause because we don’t really want to see.  We’re like a gnat bouncing around from place to place. God doesn’t reveal much truth to people who glance.

 I never really understood how I good looked until I got older and the acne was gone with help of medication.  We never really get to see ourselves or God by just glancing at the Word.  Let me again point you to what Adrian Rogers says about this:  Then when we gaze intently into the Word of God, we see the reflection of Jesus Christ.  The Bible mirrors Jesus, showing Him to us in His regal glory and splendor. Without that revelation in the mirror of His Word, we cannot know fully know Him or be changed into His likeness.

2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us this truth: we all, with open face beholding as in a glass [mirror] the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

 So let me ask you – are you looking in the mirror or are you just taking a quick peek?  Do not miss the splendor of Jesus and His glory that is found in the mirror of His Word because of a few zits!

Today’s guest blogger is Toby Keathley.  He currently lives in Germany with his family.  Toby’s writings are usually drenched with his love of people and his love of seeing lives changed.  He has truly been a blessing to my life.  You can find him at What’s This Life For?  You can also find him on twitter @Pastor_T. 

The five of us sit down to eat dinner.
We hold hands, without knowing which one of us is going to pray.
Chaya (4) usually is the first to speak, but today she’s silent.
Gabriel (8) starts….
“God is good, God is great, thank You for this food today.  Amen.”
Immediately after the Amen, Ria (my wife) says, “Thank You for the beautiful weather and a wonderful time with family.”
Gabriel says, “that doesn’t count…..I already said Amen!
I went on to explain how “Amen” doesn’t end the listening session and how God is always listening….to our words, our thoughts and everything in our hearts.
Then I wondered how often I go about my ‘normal activities’ of the day, subconsciously thinking, ‘I’m done praying, He’s on to the next person now.’
Therefore belittling God and basically saying He’s not big enough for all of us all of the time.
Hebrews 13:5 jumped to mind….
Keep you lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said
Never will I leave you,
Never will I forsake you.
Now, you can replace the first line with many things, but it’s the last 2 lines that hit me hard.
It doesn’t read, I’m with ya a few minutes a day or I’ll be around when I feel like it or most of the day you have my attention.
I won’t bother to look up the Hebrew translation for NEVER.  I get the point. 
There isn’t a point in ANY day, after ANY prayer, during ANY meal, that we can escape God’s attention.
Kinda like how we used to wait for moments when Mom and Dad weren’t watching so we could continue being the heathens we were on a usual basis.
Well, we’re not escaping “The Father”. 
The key, I think, is getting to a point where we’re not only aware of His presence, but welcome it.
Not as a nosy parent trying to bust you, but as the Creator of the universe who cares deeply about your EVERY thought and EVERY move.
I’m not at that point.  Sometimes far from it and I may spend the rest of my life trying to get there.
And if so, He’ll STILL be there.

This is a guest post by Dusty Rayburn.  He is a lay minister who holds firmly in the belief: I am nothing without God. He is author of Reflections on the Life of a Christian.  You can find him on Twitter here.  You will find that Dusty’s writings are filled with love and truth.  He has truly been a blessing to me.

 I once heard the story of a successful boat captain.  At the start of every morning, he would retrieve a small worn piece of paper from his cabin.  After reading it through several times, he would go about his day.  Upon retiring, his successor asked him about this morning routine.  He wanted to know what was so special about the piece of paper that merited a reading each morning.  With a smile, the retiring captain took the piece of paper and handed it to his successor.  On it was written two phrases:

Starboard is to the right.

Port is to the left.

The retiring captain went on to tell his successor, that success was found in always remembering the basics.  With the basics in hand, everything else will fall into place.

I believe there is something inside each one of us that delights in making things more difficult than they have to be.  We consistently over complicate things, including our relationship with God.  The Scriptures, however, remind us that a successful relationship with Him boils down to these basics:

Proverbs 3:3-4 (New International Version)
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

love

It has been said time and time again.  Love God.  Love people.  Our relationship with Christ hinges on love.  It is only by living out His love that our commitment to Him is displayed to all.

faith

Loyalty…Trust… Unrelenting Belief…  in God and in His son Christ Jesus, who died for our sins.  He is constant.  He is almighty.  He is.

I encourage you today, to focus on the basics of your relationship with Christ. “Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” 

Bill is the lead Pastor at OVCF in Indiana.  He is one of the most encouraging and challenging people that you will ever come into contact with.  Bill was one of the first people to read The Perkins Blog and we have formed a friendship that I have come to cherish.  You can read his thoughts and ramblings of a mind that is always spinning at Cycleguy’s Spin.

The church I pastor (www.ovcf.org) has as its Mission Statement “Love God. Love People. Impact the World.”  Our Mission Statement is a PEACE Plan and the “C” of the PEACE Plan stands for “Compassion In Action.”  As I get older, I have come to realize that we should never underestimate a single act of compassion, no matter how small.  People who have been reading my blog, “Cycleguy’s Spin”, for any length of time might remember this post about a “blow-me-away” act of generosity (http://www.billgrandi.ovcf.org/wordpress/?p=3401) I was the recipient of.  I was able to pick that gift up the other day.  (Unfortunately, I have not been able to use it yet due to the monsoon we have been “enjoying” here in Indiana).  :)  But I will someday soon.  But this post is not about tooting my own horn; it is about compassion.  When the initial incident happened in 1988 I did not go into it with the idea of what I could get out of it. To be honest, other than a few visits to the church I was the pastor of at the time, “John” was a relative unknown to me.  I chose to show compassion because someone needed it.  It became a really long and tangled affair-one that tested my resolve to be a friend.  Our friendship was strengthened over the 12 years as his scenario lingered on and as he helped me do a lot of remodeling on my house.  The end result is seen in the post previously mentioned. 

Compassion never goes out of style.  We should never underestimate a single act of compassion no matter how small.  We should also never show compassion for what we can get in return.  We should never show compassion out of drudgery or compulsion. There are so many different ways to show compassion so don’t get locked into thinking only one way.  But be careful.  The reality is that sometimes showing compassion never comes back to you in a tangible way (as I experienced).  Sometimes you never know how you helped someone until many years down the road (or maybe not even until eternity).

So…here are some questions for you to ponder: how are you at showing compassion?  What are ways you can show compassion to someone today?  Why are you showing compassion? What are your thoughts?  I would love to hear them.

I will be heading out-of-town this week.  I am heading towards Houston, TX for District Assembly.  Rather than schedule a bunch of posts that  may not be able to respond to, I have asked several guys to write guest posts for me. 

I began blogging in July 2009 and I started it just to get some thoughts written down.  I never dreamed that I would form some of the friendships that I have formed.  I pray continually for the community that has sprang up around here and I know they do for me as well.  I hope you enjoy the guys who are going to be posting because they all have been such an encouragement to me.  The first one will be tomorrow.

I look forward to reading the conversations that are going to be taking place here.  The posts are awesome.  I hope you find them encouraging!

Drip Jesus,

Michael

Some of you know that I spent a lot of time selling cars. (you can still trust me) I spent a lot of time selling and I spent a lot of time as a finance manager.  So much about selling is lot presentation.  We would literally spend hours lining up the cars.  We would get out a string and tie it so that all the cars were line up perfectly with each other.  I truly believe that it was harder to sell a car if the lot did not look nice.  If there was trash all over the place or if the cars looked like they do in the picture, it made selling them more difficult.

I have made so many mistakes in my life that it’s not funny.  I have found that 100% of the time when I make a mistake, it’s because I am not lined up with God’s Will. (it’s Michael’s will) I have hurt people.  I have not lived up to expectations.  I have made some pretty stupid decisions that have affected others more than me.  Life get’s out of whack.

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2 TNIV)

How do you line yourself up with God’s Will?  The answer is found in the verses above, by offering ourselves completely to Him.  It takes time lining up with God’s Will, but just like selling cars, you will reap the rewards.

Do you ever have a hard time lining up with God’s Will?

God my heart is heavy today.  I am praying for:

Those who are hurting and don’t know why…

Those who are having relationship problems…

Those who have lost a child…

Those who are battling addictions like pornography, alcohol, or drugs…

Those who feel like they are unappreciated…

Those who are longing for acceptance…

Those who desperately need something to give…

Those who are longing just to feel something…

Those who need a job, but can’t find one…

Those who have been hurt by the church…

Those that I have hurt…

That I literally perspire you…

Most of all Lord, I pray that people come to know that you are with them no matter where they are in life.  No matter what the circumstance you are there watching over them, walking with them hand in hand.

This is a list of links from this week by people who are smarter than me.  I totally didn’t come up with any of this…

Grant Jenkins…Learning How To Die…Gut Wrenching…

Gary…Bumper Sticker…Seriously this is a gut check…

Bill Grandi…Shooting Others…So sad…be sure to read the discussions going on here…

Jim Forman…Giftedness…

Check out Dusty Rayburn’s new self hosted site…

Chad Missildine…Seeing, believing, and acting…so good…

Growing up I had a Rubik’s Cube.  I was terrible at it.  You look at it and you  think, “It’s a square with different colors.  This should be easy.”  But then you try to get the colors to line up and it ends up being a complicated mess.  When I would get frustrated trying to complete it, I would take a step back and re-evaluate.  Once I gained my thoughts, I could usually complete the Rubik’s Cube.

I think that a lot of times we make our Christian walk like a Rubik’s Cube.  We start to make it about things of do’s and don’ts.  We create a list in our heads of what is acceptable and what is not.  It becomes complicated and convoluted.

• It becomes about how many chapters we read.
• It becomes about how much we serve.
• It becomes about how long we pray.
• It becomes about what we wear.
• It becomes about how we are perceived amongst our peers.
• It becomes about having to have the same seat every Sunday.
• It becomes about how much Scripture we can quote from memory.

All the stuff listed is great, but before long we lose sight of what it is all about:  Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  It’s that simple.

So if you find yourself in a Rubik’s Cube Christianity, take a step back and breathe.  Collect your thoughts.  Pray that God gets you back on track and helps you understand the depths of what it means to follow Him with everything you have.

On Saturday, my son did something that was amazingly gross and awesome at the same time.  Evidently, he dropped a grape on the ground and picked it up quickly to put back in his mouth. (gross right?)  My wife saw him out of the corner of her eye and stopped him.  She asked, “What are you doing?”  He answered, “It was only on the ground for a few seconds, my Daddy said it was okay to do that.”  She immediately looked at me and gave me the look. (you know what I’m talking about)

 I had taught my son something that wasn’t necessarily the best thing to teach him.  When he grows up someone may ask  him, “What is the most important thing you learned from you dad?”  I would hope he says something like, “He taught me to love and He taught me how to follow Christ.”  But now that’s all down the drain.  He’s going to say, “He taught me the five-second-rule.”

Hopefully he does not try this again, but if he does, I’m still going to love him.  His mom is still going to love him.  Why?  Because he’s our son and we are going to love him no matter what his flaws are.

You know something else?  I’m glad God doesn’t follow the five-second-rule.  When I had fallen to the ground, I was there a lot longer than five seconds, and He still picked me up.

Have you ever taught someone something you probably should not have?