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Posts tagged with: life
Jun 22, 2012    |       5 comments

Where O where did my little blog go…

I have been poked, prodded and emailed, face-booked, tweeted and phoned as to where my blogging has gone. I can see that May 9th was my last Hydrate post. I used to post nearly everyday, so I am seeing now that nearly 2 months has gone by without a single tap of a keyboard, I deserve all the prodding. What has happened?

Well I moved 2,188 miles across the USA from Surprise AZ (Phoenix) to Oviedo FL (Orlando). So over the last 50 or so days, my family has packed the house, said goodbye to some amazing AZ friends, moved the miles mentioned above, unpacked the house (about 50 people helped unpack to the two PODS and it took only 45 minutes), we have sold our AZ home to a cash buyer, invaded our new church in Orlando, Metro Church www.metrocc.org, met the new staff team and new church people (wonderful people), unpacked boxes (not done yet) and have gone to the beach twice (going again today!) I am amazed at how many times one can go to Home Depot when moving into a new house. We are currently renting and look forward to purchasing our own home as soon as we can.

So all in all, I have been overwhelmed and I appreciate your patience with me. I appreciate your desire to even read this blog and I hope that my recent lack of it does not cause you to lose interest.

Some of you have asked about my book “Retweeting Jesus” and when it will be released. All I know for now is that it is currently going through what is called the “copy editing” process. It takes a solid month and its about 10 days into it. I’m not sure what the next step is. One thing I’m sure of, is that I will keep you updated about it. I will be asking for your help in getting word out about this devotional book. I think it will help so many Christians understand the passion of Jesus and help even more unchurched friends possibly to give their lives to Him. I pray you will help me when the book comes out.

Be patient with me a little longer. I will blog again very soon. In my next blog post I am not going to jump right back into the “Hydrate” series I am doing. I want to take a couple blog posts and talk about TRAJECTORY. Its what happened to my family that caused us to land in Florida. One person, one church, one decision can change your entire life’s trajectory. I want to blog about my experience and I hope it encourages you, warns you and keeps you on your toes.

It may sound weird for me to say this, but if you are reading this material, I love you and care for you deeply. I look forward to a life long connection with you as we keep our eyes on the most important things of life. Jesus and each other.

New blog post coming soon.
Trent

Mar 21, 2012    |      1 comment

HYDRATE — WINNING FROM THE INSIDE 23 (Mt. 5:43-48) “Perfect”

43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)

DRINK IT IN:
Who do you consider your enemy? When was the last time you prayed for him/her/them? The Bible has a section written by the Apostle Paul, its Romans chapter 12:9-21 (NLT). Please take the time to read the passage and pay special attention to what Paul says we should do with our enemies.

“9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the LORD.

20 Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”

21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:9-21 (NLT)

I must confess that it frustrates me that Paul actually wrote and challenges us to, not only pray for our enemies, but pray that God will bless them.”

How hard is that?

PRAY THAT GOD WILL BLESS MY ENEMY? (Paul…are you out of your mind?)

I think you will agree with me that God’s number one concern here is not that my enemy would be blessed. His number one concern, in this occasion, is my heart’s, and your heart’s condition. When our hearts are full of anger, hate, revenge, and darkness, it affects our whole life. When our hearts are filled with hurt and darkness, its very difficult for us to be the kind of people that God created us to be. God wants us to pray for our enemies and pray that they will be blessed so it heals our hearts and helps us be whole. The reality is probably this, you have been thinking about your enemy way more than you would like to. Your enemy is probably not thinking about you much at all. So, when you are continually thinking about your enemy, you are actually allowing your enemy to live rent free inside your head, heart and mind on a continual basis. Its no cost to your enemy that you are thinking about them as often as you do. The more you think about your enemy, the more your heart hardens, your attitude darkens and your life gets out of focus.

Paul, says pray that your enemy will be blessed, because that is how your own heart begins to soften, your attitude brightens up and your life gets back in the focus that you and God want it to be. Everything that I am saying here is actually leading up to the very last verse in the Scripture we are meditating on right now. The verse, I’m referring to is Matthew 5:48, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Perfect? You’ve got to be kidding me! Perfect? I cannot be perfect, and you cannot be perfect. Ever. Right?

It is very frustrating to me that the Bible translators actually translated the word this way. The word really should be translated “Mature” or maybe even better, “Complete.”

The verse reads very different when you replace the word perfect with complete. “You are to be complete like your Father in Heaven is complete.”

When you and I are complete, we need nothing. When we are complete we are full, lacking nothing, fulfilled, whole. Its the “perfect” kind of life we’d like to live. Jesus was complete. Its what allowed Him to go through the torture He went through in His last 18 hours of life as He was whipped, beaten and crucified, and, at the same time, not sin, cuss, fight back, whine, but only offer forgiveness and prayer for His enemies.

While He was being taken advantage of, publicly, and in a humiliating way, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” He could only do this because He needed nothing in His life, but more of the Father in Heaven. Jesus was full. Jesus was complete. Jesus was lacking nothing. Jesus was perfect. Jesus didn’t define Himself by anything except what the Father in Heaven said and believed about Him.

Do you see how perfect and complete go together in this setting.

If you and I only define ourselves based on what the Father in Heaven believes and says about us, it will change how we live our lives. You and I would be able to look our enemy in the eye and walk away from their dysfunction and hurt instead of stick around and fight for something that won’t fulfill us anyway. If you are full, and thus, take your life’s definition based off of what Jesus believes about you, then it doesn’t matter to you what other people say or do to you. You are full. You are complete. Its perfect!

When you are like this, you are able to live your days helping others understand that they can be full, complete and perfect. This is the way to the fulfilled life.

SWEAT IT OUT:
What is it that you need in your life right now?
Do you really need it? Do this test to determine if you really need it…(stand next to a starving child in Africa and tell this child that you need it?)

What do you need to do to fully understand and believe what God says about you? Do you need to read your Bible more and understand that Jesus was the gift that allowed you to live? Do you recognize that Jesus’ death was God’s way of saying He loves you, and all the people of the world, more than anything else? Do you need to make the decision that Jesus loves you and its His love for you that defines you?

When your life is right with God, you can live needing nothing. You can be content. You can be full. Your life and mine are very short. Think about what you were doing just 10 years ago. Seems like it was just yesterday. My life and yours are but a vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow. There is nothing we can do about that, other than live a “perfect” life.

The things you worry about, the people whom hate you, the problems you face. Yes, they are frustrating, but are they worth all the trouble we allow them to bring in our lives? No. Start doing whatever is necessary to break free from these frustrating things. The first thing, you must start doing to accomplish this, is begin to pray that God will bless your enemy. Pray that God will use the problems you face to make you a better a person. Pray that God will use the circumstances, that cause you to worry, to make you trust Him more, so you won’t worry about them anymore.

God is in control of all things. You either believe that and act like it or you don’t. Do your actions verify that you really do believe that God is in control? Even in the middle of total tragedy, God is in control. Even in the middle of the worst thing that has happened to you, God can turn it for good, if you will work with Him by trying.

Someday you will join Jesus and look Him in eyes and nothing else will matter. Start living that way now. Make the decision to be full.

You can be perfect. Jesus commands you to be perfect. When you get this and live it out, you will be acting like true children of the Father in Heaven. Our world, that is so separated from God, needs to see the lives of the true children of God being lived out before their very eyes. You can be this to the world. This would make you perfect, in the sense that Jesus means perfect. This would make you complete!

Puts a new meaning to, “You complete me!”
Nobody can do that for you, but Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lord’s and King of Kings.

Mar 19, 2012    |       2 comments

HYDRATE — WINNING FROM THE INSIDE 21 (Mt. 5:41) “Two Miles”

41 “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
Matthew 5:41 (NIV)

In the previous two posts, Jesus commands us to “turn the other cheek” and “give until you are naked.” I have presented a different way to think about these commands from Jesus, by using and understanding the Hebrew Culture that Jesus grew up with. This passage about going two miles when asked to go only one is no different from the previous two posts. I want to present an ancient Roman law that Jesus would have been familiar with that I think He is referring to in this command.

DRINK IT IN:
The ancient Roman law I am referring to is called the Law of Angaria. You can do a search via the internet and find all kinds of information about this ancient rule. The Law of Angaria was enacted as a way to keep the Roman Empire from looking uncivilized. The Roman Empire wanted to be known as a dominating force, yet civilized. So, the Roman Empire adopted a law that the Persians created. This law gave authority to any Roman official…Military or not…to require of any person or vessel, living in Roman occupied territory, to carry anything the Roman official needed carried, but only for one mile. (If we got really technical, 1000 steps) If the official was caught having the person carry something more than a mile, he could be reprimanded, demoted and in some cases potentially put to death. The Law of Angaria is what the Romans used when they forced Jesus to carry his own cross. Its fascinating to know, that the distance between the place where Jesus was put on trial and the actual crucifixion sight (Golgotha or Skull Hill), was right at one mile. There are arguably two location where Golgotha is located, and both locations are right at one mile of distance from the Trial location.

So, Jesus tells his listeners,”If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Is it possible that Jesus is being a bit ornery here? You have to agree with me that it is likely. Again, to repeat what I said in the previous two posts, Jesus does command us to be as sly as a snake and innocent as a dove. He does tell us to conquer evil by doing good.

Imagine an arrogant Roman officer demanding that you carry his pack for one mile. He has the right to do so because it is the law of the land. You, as a Christian, comply and you do exactly as the Roman officer commands you. As you traverse with the Roman officer for a mile, he would expect you to stop and return the pack. Imagine, without saying a word, you continue carrying the pack and you cross the one mile threshold. Not only are you doing an act of service and kindness to this Roman officer, that used the law of the land to take advantage of you, but you now have strategically and legally caused this Roman officer to be at your mercy. Its a double win for the Christian! Of course, as a Christian you are not going to mistreat this travel partner of yours, but you most definitely have the upper hand now. He knows he could be demoted for this situation and you now have the control. I have read about early Christians and have ventured across some stories of Christians walking the second mile with Romans and using the extra time to tell of the story of Jesus as the Son of God and the only way to Heaven.

I assure you, that after this happens once to any Roman, he would not use the Law of Angaria on a Christian again.

Be as a sly as a snake and innocent as a dove.
Conquer evil by doing good.

The early Christians had quite a reputation in the Roman Empire. A good and strong reputation. It fueled a great fire of hate within the belly of the bully. It caused unbelievable persecution upon the Christians. That very persecution, caused the message of Jesus, to spread like a wildfire out of control. Except it was controlled. God had it right where He wanted it.

SWEAT IT OUT:

Is there someone in your life who is trying to dominate you? Figure out a way to strategically and lovingly put them in their place. Do it without sinning. Our world needs more demonstrations of the strength and holiness and wisdom of Christianity. Be very careful with this. Remember that you and I are always one decision away from blowing our credibility. This also means that you and I are always one decision away from hurting the credibility of Jesus.

Romans 12:20 (NIV) says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

I think it is fascinating that the author actually writes the part about heaping burning coals upon their head. That’s ornery. That’s strategic. Its not nice. Yet, according to the Bible, its not wrong!

Somewhere along the way of life, we confused the love of Jesus with simple nice-ness.

So, you know your circumstances. You know most of the people you encounter everyday. Right?

So, as you encounter these people today and tomorrow and the next, what do they think of Jesus because of you and your actions? Are they inspired by your strength, strategy, humility, boldness, wisdom, servanthood, innocent conquering ability?

Go inspire!

Feb 16, 2012    |      Comments Off on HYDRATE — WINNING FROM THE INSIDE 13 (Mt.5:23-24) “Reconcile”

HYDRATE — WINNING FROM THE INSIDE 13 (Mt.5:23-24) “Reconcile”

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 5:23-24

DRINK IT IN:
What the heck does RECONCILIATION really mean?

I think we can all agree on, for the most part, what Jesus is saying about offering a gift at the altar. The whole purpose of offering a gift at the altar is to give thanks to God for how much He loves us and for giving us the gift of forgiveness. Therefore it is hypocritical to offer a gift of thanksgiving for forgiveness and at the same time hold forgiveness back from others in our lives or have unreconciled relationships. Its a double standard.

Do you agree with me that God will not honor double standards? So, when the offering plate is passed and you are withholding forgiveness from anyone, don’t give until you have pursued forgiveness or have given forgiveness. If the communion tray is coming your way during a worship service, same thing, don’t partake until you have pursued reconciliation. If you are about to preach or teach the Word of God. If you are about to Lead Worship or sing on the vocal team. If you are about serve in the Children’s ministry. If you are about to work in your Church’s cafe, fold bulletins, make phone calls for the church, serve in the youth ministry, stack chairs, sweep floors….ANYTHING that you do for your local church as a form of work or volunteering is a form of “offering a gift at the altar” of God. Its ALL worship. Any worship that has a double standard will be rejected by God.

Bottom line…if we offer gratefulness and love and repentance to God without offering it to others around us, God wont accept our offering. Paul actually warns us in his letter to the Corinthians that if we take communion in an unworthy manner, it is the reason some of us are sick and even have died. This is a serious matter. Let me reinforce this notion a little stronger with a verse from the Bible. Matthew 6:15 says, “But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” This is big deal. Unforgiven people do not enter Heaven. If we don’t forgive others or apologize to others then we won’t be forgiven by God. Please do not be unforgiven. I love the passage of 1 John 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Please make sure you are offering forgiveness to those who have hurt you. And make sure you are apologetic and repentant to those whom you have harmed. You can’t control how they respond to you, you can only control yourself. I would like to teach on forgiveness here, but there will be a better time in a future Hydrate Devotion. Let me say this before I move on to the subject at hand. Granting somebody forgiveness is more for yourself than for the person who harmed you. Giving forgiveness allows you to let it go and move on with your life. I love what Mother Theresa said about forgiveness. She said, “If you can’t forgive your offender, its like drinking poison and hoping it will kill them.” Think about that. More to come on forgiveness in the near future.

Back to point…
I want to get to something critical that most people have forgotten about. Reconciliation. What exactly is it? My immediate thoughts about reconciliation lead me to think about extreme situations. For instance. What does it mean for a woman who has been raped, to reconcile with her rapist? What does it mean for a child who has been sexually abused by a family member to reconcile with that family member? What does it mean for a man, who has faced harm and heartache from another man in his life, to be reconciled with him? If you have been fired and hold bitterness towards your previous boss, what does it mean to be reconciled? If you have gone through a very nasty divorce and enormous amounts of pain were experienced in the marriage and divorce, what does it mean to be reconciled? If someone murdered your family, what would it mean to reconcile with the murderer? Do see how this issue isn’t so simple?

So what does it mean to forgive and reconcile? Now the Cynic in me wants to write out the typical “Sunday School Answer.” This answer would go something like this, “Well, Trent, you know that Jesus was harmed by you because of your sins. Even though you hurt Jesus, He went to the cross for you anyway. And, Trent, even while you abused Him some more while He was on the cross, He said, “Father forgiven them, for they don’t know what they are doing. So, Trent…when someone harms you, you must ‘Let Go and Let God’ and everything will be alright, so let it go and go in peace.”

I wish it were that easy.

So, let me take a shot at this reconciliation idea, and hopefully when its done, we will have an answer that is actually helpful to us all.

I think we first have to define reconcile. I would like to say that reconcile means “to resolve a problem to the approval of one or both parties involved.” You may ask, “why not both parties?” In the case of a murderer, sexual abuser, and many other kinds of offenders, I don’t think we can resolve the issue to the approval of both parties. In my opinion, when an abuser breaks the law with any extreme case of harm, they quit acting “human” and they may still be human, but in their non-human behavior they lose their rights to decide the resolution process that is necessary. In other words, some offenses are so harmful to others that the offender loses his/her rights as a human to decide for themselves what is best for moving forward towards reconciliation. They must receive swift and strong punishment for their non-human behavior. This offender, in their choice to harm, also gave away their rights to determine their future fate. (Crime never pays…it only kills, steals and destroys.) In fact, nearly every offender…no matter the offense, loses their immediate rights to help set what happens next in the relationship. In their choice to sin and cause harm, they become disqualified to dictate what happens next, and will find themselves at the mercy of other people, especially the person they abused/offended/harmed.

So what is reconciliation in these extreme cases? The answer is really left in the hands of the offended party or the hands of the law, in which, the offended party still has most of the influence and power. i.e. They can Press charges, seek revenge, grant forgiveness, etc.

The individual doesn’t have to have any kind of relationship with their offender into the future if they do not want to. The offender might even be a family member, but that doesn’t mean the one who is harmed has to be fully present in the offenders life again…and then call that reconciliation. (Reconciliation does not necessarily means physically present in each others lives again.)

I think RECONCILIATION means that both parties will stand before God someday in full knowledge that God gave the free gift of His only Son to forgive their sins. These individuals, in order to stand before God RECONCILED, must have either apologized for their offense and changed their behavior (repented), or granted forgiveness to their offender. What happens from this point on between these two parties is solely up to any one of the two parties. If either paty freely chooses not to have any further relationship with the other, then that is still reconciliation and is good.

What reconciliation does do, is fully removes, bitterness, anger, hurt, revenge, or anything else even close to those evil characteristics and actions, but it does not mean that full physical restoration into each other’s lives is essential for reconciliation to take place.

Some might argue that Jesus is not that way…even after we abused Him, He forgave and His kind of reconciliation is full reinstatement of relationship, physical presence and a continued healthy relationship with one another.

I would reply to that argument that this is the ultimate end goal result of any abusive situation. I think everybody would agree that it would be a miraculous and beautiful thing for this kind of reconciliation to take place. However…People are not Jesus! Jesus’ kind of reconciliation is the ultimate kind. Jesus’ kind of reconciliation is one directional. By this I mean that Jesus, after being abused, laid down His own life to pay for the sins of His offender and this was to Honor the Father more than anyone else. Then, Jesus took up His life at the resurrection and proceeded to approach His offenders/us with an open invitation to reconcile by actually moving into our hearts and living in us, if we the offender accepted His offer. This is the PERFECT and ULTIMATE form of reconciliation and is only possible if the offended party offers it. However it is not the only kind of reconciliation. It is a very different kind of reconciliation when one of the two parties in the relationship is The Perfect Son of God! We live in a fallen world and the relationships we have amongst one another are between two fallen and imperfect people. This fact creates a different kind of reality and creates different kinds of acceptable forms of reconciliation.

So, whatever the example of hurt relationships, offenses and abuses above…full reconciliation does not mean that
both parties have to be “in” each others lives physically again. It DOES mean that somewhere, somehow, and sometime there is/was facilitated a peaceful ENDING of the conflict. There is a mutual acknowledgment that “things” are okay and everybody will do well to move forward with their lives. (To the offenders…prison or other consequences is moving forward.)

Reconciliation also means that there are now firm boundaries that have been set in place, and frankly, both parties do not have to be in agreement, or even like the new boundaries. But boundaries will have been established and they will be followed. The reality is, when boundaries have to be set, it is only the offending party that doesn’t like the new boundaries. Boundaries are set to protect and honor the offended from being hurt again AND they are set to protect the offender from harming again. Reconciliation does not mean free from all consequences. Only offending parties/law breakers/abusers desire to have no consequences. New boundaries are what wise people do as a consequence of evil behavior happening to them. It would be wise to warn the “boundary setter” to guard the motives of “why” the boundaries are being set. If the boundaries are set as a form of revenge or getting even, then true forgiveness hasn’t taken place, and now the boundary setter is beginning to have sinful reactions. This is not reconciliation in any form. However, if boundaries are not set, the abuser/offender might still expect to be in control of your new “reconciled” relationship. You need to set and enforce the boundaries of the new relationship. When it comes to actually setting boundaries and trying to decide what are good boundaries and what are boundaries that go to far, its important to ask a few of questions.

SWEAT IT OUT:
a.) Do you want your abuser/offender in close proximity of you again? (Physically, Emotionally, Mentally, Spiritually, or Socially?)
b.)What do you wish to gain by bringing your abuser/offender back into your life?
c.) Will your life improve by having this person back in your life?
d.) Is the abuser/offender aware, with total clarity, your desires in the answers to the questions above?

Its tiring isn’t it? God never intended for our world and our relationships to be this way. But they are and we need to become wiser in how we deal with it all. This is a serious issue or Jesus would have never taught about it.

If you have been abused by anyone with any kind of abuse, if you are carrying hurt, anger and lack of forgiveness in your heart and life, and you think you can deal with it all on your own. You will be in big trouble. I want to encourage you to seek out a well known and credible Christian Counselor and ask for help. Pay for help. The cost of not handling any of this right is way more expensive than paying somebody by the hour to help you do it right!

Do you have anybody in your life, that when you think of them, you know you have an unreconciled relationship with them? If you do, either apologize for your sinful behavior or tell them you are forgiving them for their sinful behavior. (Remember…you cannot control how they respond, you can only be responsible for your own action.) If you cannot work on reconciliation yet, then please don’t ask God to forgive you for your sins, because He won’t hear your prayer. Don’t give anything to God, for it won’t be accepted. Don’t pretend to be holy because it will be a double standard. Does this sound too harsh? It is harsh. It’s harsh because ETERNITY is at stake and your soul is in the balance. SEEK RECONCILIATION NOW. NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.

Keep working on your relationships. It is a daily battle that will rage on until your very last breath. It is a worthwhile and holy battle. This battle is all to often a battle that is not about flesh and blood as much as it is about what is called Spiritual Warfare waging all around you. I pray you will do your very best to not have sinful reactions when other people sin against you, but you will forgive, set new boundaries and have a new reconciled relationship. Remember that reconciliation has many different forms. It is easier said than done. Remember this…Hurt people…hurt people. So when someone hurts you, try to discover how they have been previously hurt and are simply having sinful reactions in that hurt. Make sense? Hurt people, hurt people.
When you are hurt…don’t have sinful reactions and repeat the hurt. Break the vicious cycle by seeking “RECONCILIATION.”

I can’t think of anything harder in life to do, than reconciliation.
Let’s end with this…
Hurt people, hurt people.
Forgiven people, forgive people.
Which one are you.
Its a choice.
Choose well…according to Jesus it has eternal consequences.

Feb 3, 2012    |       3 comments

Hydrate — Winning From The Inside — The Preface

Is your happiness portable?

What do I mean by, “portable happiness?” Think with me…

What if you lost your job today and couldn’t find any work for the next six months?
What if your son went undefeated in his basketball season but lost the championship game because he missed his final free throw?
What if a tornado or a fire completely destroyed your home and everything in it, including your family’s creative memories albums?
What if your four year old daughter were diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and were given a 10% chance of living to age six?
What if you lost your wife and children in a car crash as they drove home from Walmart today?

The “What If’s” game is not a fun game to play. But, the “What Ifs” are a likelihood for each and every individual, everyday. A likelihood for you. Please understand that I am not deploying fear tactics here. I am simply reminding us all that the “What Ifs” are realities for people, everyday.

The hard reality is this. If we place our “ultimate” joy and happiness in these temporal elements of our lives, then we potentially face, each and every day, such a heart wrenching reality that we would not be able to live the rest of our lives with joy or happiness.

Introducing — “Hydrate.” Winning from the inside.”

What do I mean by “Hydrate?”

There is a story-of-old about a man who encounters a woman drawing water from a well for her family at noon on a hot and dry day. At this encounter, the man begins to converse with her, he simply asks, “would you be so kind as to draw a drink of water for me?” She is quite surprised by the inquiry because he was of different ethnicity than she, and it was counter-cultural for such conversation to take place. However, she agreed and drew up some cool water from the deep well. After being refreshed by his drink of water. He said, “If you drink this water, you will only thirst again, but if you drink the water that I can give you, you will never thirst again. It will be like a bubbling spring of water and life inside of you. ” Then the woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw the water!” And, so, the conversation went on.

If you don’t know the “characters” of this story-of-old, this is a woman from Samaria speaking with Jesus of Nazareth. You can read all the details in the Bible in the book of John, chapter 4.

“HYDRATE”

If Jesus of Nazareth is who He says He is…then I would think that we should deeply consider and learn from Him. One of His teachings actually commands us “to teach people to obey everything that I have commanded.” (We’ll get to that teaching in this Hydrate series…but not yet!)

There are approximately 300 different teachings that Jesus publicly declared in His lifetime. I am hopeful that you will devote yourself to drink in this material as often as you can. Do not “drink it in” out of duty. Have you ever consumed a bottle of water out of duty? Its not refreshing, is it? I hope that you will place this material at your easy access and when you “thirst,” you will take it up and drink it in. And, as you continue to drink, my hope for you, is that you will find a “bubbling spring of water and life welling up inside of you.” I call this joy and happiness.

When your Joy and Happiness begins to flow internally.

Then it is portable.

Each teaching of Jesus will be an entry in the Hydrate series. You will see that each entry will be in two parts. First there will be an easy to understand history of what Jesus said and I will call that section, “Drink It In.” Then there will be a simple practical challenge for you to consider and activate into your life after learning about what Jesus taught. This second part will be called, “Sweat it out.”

Drink it in and sweat it out.

Its totally portable!

I hope you enjoy it and are forever impacted.

Please keep me updated along your journey.

Trent

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