Mistakes, Battles, and Victory

I attended Watermark Community Church tonight and the talk was AWESOME. I highly recommend anyone catching the video on www.watermark.org. The subject was Temptation. This was timely for me in light of very recent events.
Last night, my wife and I were going on a “date-night”. Because we have a new born at home and “feedings” are frequent, these date-nights are far and few between. Not to mention, they are difficult to schedule and typically crammed in between feeding schedules.

I watched the clock as it moved just passed 10PM. We handed off our newest daughter to my mother-in-law and rushed out the door without a plan. Driving by the movie theater, we stopped to see if there was anything that we could catch last minute. There was a 10:15P showing of the number one movie in America, Hangover. I’ll preface this by stating that I had not seen one preview for the movie, but I had talked to someone who had seen it. He said it was hilarious and I specifically asked him about nudity. He said if you walk out before the credits you would miss it (I should add, that is not entirely true) and he warned me about the language. I had much hesitation because of the name and rating, but we went in anyways.
Before I go further I will give you some background on me. I have a history of addiction to pornography. Many men I meet share this struggle, but I have never in my life met a man who has struggled to the degree that I did. Email me if I need to quantify this, but I will say here that in a dark season of my life it was a daily battle and I was defeated daily. The LORD has allowed me incredible victory here. He has actually, miraculously, given me amazing freedom to enjoy marriage free from pornography, while managing well my struggle with lust. More than overcoming these struggles, He has given me a superior satisfaction in Him. To say I am grateful is a gross understatement!

Just the other day my wife and I were thanking God for the bondage He had delivered me from. Well, last night was a mistake and it cost me. Thankfully I have not returned to the trap of pornography, but I had a glimpse into my life before freedom. This movie reminded me what it looked like to live life without a relationship with Christ. It celebrated all things debauchery and fed my adrenalin, constantly whispering to me, sometimes shouting at me “there’s life here!” I left before the credits, not to avoid seeing nudity but because I was embarrassed with fear of seeing someone I knew.

I apologized to my wife for my failure in leading her last night. More-over, I had to apologize to her for the repercussions that followed. I woke up today in a battle. Most of the day was spent fighting my thoughts of fantasy. These were familiar thoughts that had not surfaced in some time. This battle had been “won” for so long. Now, today, I couldn’t walk anywhere without vividly “noticing” anyone and everyone of the opposite sex. My day was full of brief mental affairs which defeated my spirit and robbed me of the joy that I had been celebrating for some time. Praise God that I did not physically act out on any of these thoughts or pursue images from past sources (the internet), but that seems like a sad celebration and inadequate consolation prize to the life I had tasted while walking closely with Jesus.

I am more aware than ever of the freedom that Lord desires for us. John 10:10 the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full –the words of Christ. My life was much more “full”, much more abundant pre-“Hangover”.

Here’s the crazy part. We enjoyed the movie (that is not an endorsement). There probably was not anything else that we could have gone out to do at 10PM that would have been more enjoyable. However, it is not (was not) worth it. We cannot always base our decisions on what we will enjoy the most in the moment. Many times what we enjoy in the moment will cause us a setback in our relationship with Christ. I am more convinced than ever that the very best thing for us is God. That is why a loving Father does so much to woo us toward Him. Yet we continue to run towards that which always results in a hangover. There is too much at risk not to weigh movie going decisions more carefully in the future. Right now, I am celebrating forgiveness while committed to pursuing deeply the life that Christ offers.

Does God Want us to be Happy?

It seems that we can go to church our whole life, be around religion and spiritual people, and still miss what it means to follow Christ. I know we can miss it because I missed it for 21 years. I believe the biggest reason for this is simply a misunderstanding that our life here matters more than it does. I will attempt to explain in the following paragraphs. Does God want us to be happy? It is a great question that is often not answered well. A simple “yes” or “no” is incorrect.

We know that The Lord wants us to “be joyful always”, Thessalonians 5:16. We know that “joy” is a fruit or character trait entrusted to us when we have God’s Holy Spirit with us, Galatians 5:22. However the apostle Paul seems to speak to this question of emotion most clearly. Paul is in prison when he writes “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want”, Philippians 4:10-12. Can you picture Paul chained to a Roman guard, limited as to what he can eat, and confined to 4 walls separated by only a small space saying “I am content, even now, I am content”? He seemed to be completely delusional. However, it certainly seems that the man that the Lord had write 80% or the New Testament was on to something. He goes on to say “Godliness plus contentment is great gain”, 1 Timothy 6:6.

So when did we start pursuing happiness as though it was something that could be found, discovered, stumbled upon, or created? It seems that we continue to pursue that which we logically know will not cause us to be happy instead of learning to be happy as Paul did. We know logically that material things do not bring us happiness simply by, 1) observing those with much and realizing that their problems are often more and their laughter is often limited and, 2) by observing those with less, where joy can be bought so cheaply. (I recall the joy that a simple ball brought to the jungle villages of Brazil, or the ridiculous laughter around candy in Africa) More often than not, it doesn’t have to be bought at all. Happiness just happens.

Why doesn’t happiness always happen? Somewhere Christians began to believe that we can have both the world and Christ and that is acceptable to God. Jesus commanded us “not to love the world or anything in the world”, saying if we do “the love of the father is not in us”. 1 John 2:15 He tells us that we do not belong to the world but to Him and that the world will hate us. John 15:19 and 1 John 3:13. However, so called “Christians” continue to love the world, things in the world, and namely money. We do this in spite of the many warnings that say “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have”, Hebrews 13:5. Other warnings say “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless”, Ecclesiastes 5:10. Also, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”, Matthew 6:24. We usually speak these verses away by picking out the verb, emphasizing it, and saying certainly we do not do this. “Certainly we do not love or serve money and certainly we are not eager for it.” 1 Timothy 6:10, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
2 Timothy 3:2-5 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. When we read these verses we assume it is describing wicked people who openly reject God, but I believe it is talking about many people who we see in church on a Sunday morning, those desperately wanting happiness.
So, we are to be content in all situations and not love the things in this world, but how? John 12:23-25, Matthew 10:39, Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, Luke 17:33 When the bible says the same thing twice we are told to take special notice. When it says the same thing 6 times (as it does in the verses above), we better tattoo it on our minds. We are to lose our lives for the sake of Christ. Not die literally, but in all ways acknowledge God (Proverbs 3:5-6) yielding our entire lives to Him. Paul was not delusional; He simply had his mind wrapped around eternity. He would have been the biggest fool ever if there was no resurrection. If there is no eternity, Paul is a moron. If there is, however, a heaven then Paul is brilliant!
The God that may desire for us to be happy tells us to rejoice in suffering. Romans 5:2-5 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 1 Peter 1:6, Rejoice though we suffer for a “little while” and 1 Peter 4:13 “Rejoice in suffering for Christ”.

So if we are not to conform to this world, what should we do? Romans 12:2, Do not conform any longer 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.

We need to get our minds around the things of eternity so that we can leverage this life for then. If there is a God, a creator of the heavens and earth, and there is a heaven, then the only reason my heart beats in my chest, the only reason I breath, the only reason I have life is twofold: To know Him and make Him known. That’s it. We should leverage every gift, every talent, every possession, every ounce of credibility in knowing Him and making Him known.

Somewhere we’ve taken on the belief that “believing” in Jesus simply means that you say that you believe. That is NEVER the case. Believing in Jesus looks like living this life like it doesn’t matter, in light of the things to come. Paul said “to live is Christ to die is gain”, Philippians 1:21. He is saying he would love to die and go be with Jesus, but if he must live (so that he can share Christ with others) he will live as Christ did. And so we must live as Christ did. Galatians 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Does God want us to be happy? He wants us to be holy. God tells us that we must die to ourselves in order to have life, that the World will hate us, rejoice in suffering, and that we must sell everything we have and follow Him. That doesn’t sound like a God concerned about my happiness. At least He certainly is not concerned with the things that I think will bring me happiness. The gospel is so counterintuitive. The idea that our King, made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. God is about Himself. For anyone else this would be ridiculously selfish and egotistical. However, with God, He knows the best thing for us is Him so it is actually loving. Does God want us to be happy? God wants us to be overwhelmed with joy rooted in knowledge of and love for Him.

I Want Freedom!!!

"I can do what I want…It's a free country! You're not the boss of me!!!" You might hear this from a rebellious 6 year old. I remember having a similar attitude towards baby sitters who attempted to enforce my parent's rules. It is indeed a free country. Every year thousands of people risk their lives to come here in order to live in freedom all while hundreds of thousands of others risk their lives so that we can enjoy that freedom. What is it about freedom that is so attractive? For some it means hope of something more; for others, a new beginning.

Today I want to focus on those that are here and enjoy this readily available freedom daily. We have the freedom to speak what is on our mind, the freedom to go where we please, and the freedom to enjoy most of what this world has to offer. Not all freedom, however, is good. We also have freedom from integrity. Integrity is defined as firm adherence to a moral code. And in this day it is sometimes cool and completely acceptable not to practice it. After all "firm adherence" to anything doesn't sound very freeing. Oh, but that is the genius of this life.

The wisest man ever to live once said "there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death". What?! The way that seems right leads to death?! So how do you know if you are going the right way, or on the right path, or even doing the right things? "Firm adherence to a moral code", but what moral code? Another wise man said the heart is wicked and deceitful. This is pretty discouraging considering that I have always been told to trust my heart.

I love to share Christ with others. Often the response I get from non-Christians is "I believe in God, and I am a good person." To which I respond, "what does it mean to be good?" And without fail, I will hear a short list of sins that person doesn't commit (or thinks they don't commit). "well, I don't murder or steal". Does the God that you believe in grade on the curve? How good is good enough and where does this idea that God just wants us to be good come from? It is nowhere in the Bible, but most don't know that.

My conversion started, like most conversions do, with me realizing I wasn't good. In fact, my heart is wicked and deceitful. I had spent my life following ways that seemed right and there was rarely life there in the end. In fact my conversion consisted of me realizing how truly self-destructive I actually was.

Now, today, it is not 6-year-olds I hear screaming "I can do what I want…it's a free country!!!". It is grown men and women like me. It is college graduates, and successful business men. It's those who sleep with their girlfriends because they can. It is married men who go after their secretaries, because after all, they have the freedom to do so. Its women who spend freely without thinking, enjoying the illusion of financial freedom that credit (or daddy) presents. It is those who "binge" on porn because it is their personal right to do so. And those who experiment with drugs, or those who consistently express their freedom by drinking too much. I am guilty of most of these. Oh to be free…to have to answer to no one. To have a "firm adherence" to nothing but self desire, often putting aside the feelings of others…What do they matter any way?

As I write this it seems wicked. Who would be so self-centered? Who would seek their own desires and put everyoneelse's feelings aside? I am confident it doesn't happen over night. No, maybe it starts when we are six as we talk back to our baby-sitter. Maybe later, as we consistently choose self-seeking ways and get addicted to the short pleasures that we are rewarded for doing so. When did we stop doing what was right? Often the most wicked people have no idea of their wicked ways. They are delusional often stating they are good and banking on their God to grade on a huge curve. Hoping they will be graded against Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and others alike, so they will have a red carpet into heaven.

But the bible tells us there is one way. It is to acknowledge Christ as LORD. LORD is defined by one having power and authority over others. So, what does it mean to submit to Christ as LORD? Could it be "firm adherence" to His teachings? I definitely think that is a part of it. Carrie Underwood put it well with her song "Jesus Take the Wheel". Why would I ever drive when I can let the LORD of the universe in the driver's seat? Today I do not offer you freedom. No, today offered is complete submission to your perfect maker. There will be freedom that comes with this…much more than you've experienced before, but it is no doubt a step of faith. It requires you to trust in the One that died for you to have ultimate freedom offered by your perfect Father…Eternal life.

Consequences...

If we were honest with ourselves I think we'd all say that consequences scare us.

I thought I had escaped the consequences of my sins. I was smart. I had a pride about me that erred on the side of arrogance. I was good at thinking I was better than most. When I say "I thought I had escaped the consequences", I don't mean completely. Sure there were bad days every now and then...traffic jams, stress with work, conflicts in relationships, maybe even losing money in a bad bet or investment...hey, these were small prices to pay. These were tolerable consequences and well worth getting to sin on occasion. After all, my bank account grew; I received promotion after promotion, and got to marry the woman of my dreams. I had no STD, no unwanted children, no prison term, no physical or mental handicap that I inflicted on myself...I was getting off easy!

I read something the other day that stopped me completely. It scared me. Not like a “BOO!” kind of scared, not even like a going to die kind of scared...worse...I was paralyzed with fear. This was the kind of fear that could cause a grown man to cry. When is the last time that you cried because you were scared? Now that's fear!

It was a story of a man who struggled with a sin that he did not acknowledge. The type of sin we've all done. He knew it was there, but he would not talk about it and often questioned if it was really sin. He would rationalize his sin. He always thought the consequence was the guilt of not "dealing" with the sin. He probably didn’t call it sin...In his mind he'd say it was a struggle or a challenge. It is a temptation or a vice...not a sin, that's too religious of a word.

Every year he would take a vacation and drive down a beautiful mountainside. It was amazing countryside decorated with fall foliage, orange, yellow, and reds reflecting off of natural waterfalls and lakes. It was painted with flowers of all sorts and had a road that winded through it all, mixing all of God's creation into perfect moving paintings framed in the windows of his car.

He did this every year until one year...he no longer appreciated it. How had this happened? He was num to beauty. The aesthetics were no longer alive, they were only there. The trees and flowers and mountains and waters were no longer pretty, they just were. Not that scary? Keep reading….

Sin robs you of the meaning of life and fools you into thinking that life exists in sin. You can acknowledge that your sin doesn't make since but you still know that you are going to do it. “I don't want to think about it, I'm just going to do it”.

I didn’t realize it before, but now I believe it with all my heart, sin truly does rob us of life and fools us into thinking we are living it to the “fullest”. Sin, any sin, turns family into an obligation, it turns our relationship into a burdensome commitment, and sin turns friendships into strategic conversations and empty laughter often targeted at one another. Sin turns your career into work; it turns memories into blurry visions, and all things beautiful into just ordinary things. Too often we exchange sin for a memory. I challenge you to buy something good with any memory of sin…they are worthless. I have found that most people don’t even care to hear my stories of sin in spite of what I might think. (They probably don’t want to hear your’s either) The only exceptions being authentic confessions of present day sin in the context of seeking true accountability.

When you think that you truly have escaped consequences look at your life deeply. Think about what used to bring you so much joy and now just seems boring. And don’t be fooled into thinking it is experience that changed that. Sin leaves you cold and won’t allow you to realize it until you’re too comfortable being cold to change.

Pornography
Excessive drinking
Pre-marital Sex
Gambling
Cheating
Lust
Pride
Arrogance
Greed
Poor Stewardship (Pointless Spending)
...or any other "could be" sin that comes to mind.

***Pick your sin and reread all the paragraphs above replacing the word sin with your specific “could be” sin.

Know that sin is robbing you of a good relationship with your family, it is making your job feel like work, and it is stealing from you the relationship that God intended you to have, one that is filled with trust and laughter. Know that your sin is costing you the relationships with those you should absolutely care about most, and often as they disappear, it is keeping you from realizing it. Sin is very expensive and it manipulates you into thinking that it is not. It will cost you all things beautiful in this world, leaving you as someone who just goes through the motions. Someone who lives and then dies, with just a little coldness and a few rushes of adrenalin in-between.

God does not want you to only stop sinning; He wants you to want Him more than your sin. Sin separates us from God. I would rather be in a wheelchair with an STD in prison, while being visited by my illegitimate children than not know God.

So why do I write an email like this? Most of us won't do something unless it affects us for the better. More over, we won't stop doing something unless we know it is going to hurt who we are. We are selfish and about us. We seek religion because we think it will make us better. We go to church because it makes us feel good or we need to "check that box". Think about this…We go to church for the same reason we don't go to church...us. The most important person to most of us is ourselves. And if you think back, it probably wasn't always this way, or at least not to the extent it is now. Our sin has slowly removed us from caring and we don't even realize it. We will do something good and think we are redeemed, when at one time it was a daily practice to not only do good, but be good. For many of us, those days are long gone.


Oh that we would never get what we deserve. Some of us are fooled into thinking we are good people not realizing that any one of us is capable of all things evil in any given moment. It is ironic, that as I study life and people, those who say they are a “good person” typically live lives filled with sin and those who say I am a sinner, are the “best” people I know. If you think you are a good person, start auditing your thoughts. I am certain you will give up after a short attempt and get tired of reprimanding yourself.

Hey, I am here to say there is hope. There is freedom from your sin which will provide you with a better, more abundant life. If you don’t believe me, let’s talk. Struggle well…

Genesis 4:7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

Romans 5:17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

John 14:21
21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."


James 3:13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Ezekiel 16:58You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the LORD.

Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 3:4-6
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Temptation everywhere.

Remember when you walked down the midway at the carnival, where the games are? Remember all of the carnies yelling at you from all directions? "Just knock three down and win a prize!" "C'mon big fella! Win a prize for the little lady!" "Just put the ball in the hoop! It's easy!" …Ah, the ball in the hoop. The basketballs are too full of air. The hoops are smashed to an oval and 40 feet high in the clouds. The odds are against you. You get three balls for $5.00. Maybe, by some divine intervention, you make one. You get to take your pick between some scary looking stuffed animal, and a rubber basketball with a college logo on it. Either prize is destined for your next garage sale with a $0.05 sticker on it.

All this to say some days I feel that when I walk out of my house I am back in the midway. Only this time it is temptation yelling at me from every direction. Trying to sucker me in. "Get angry!" "Curse!" "Check out that woman!" "Want more stuff!" "Take a shot of tequila!" "Be lazy!" "Over commit!" "Flip off that guy that just cut you off!" "Beat him up!" " You can take him!" "Murder that person with your words!" "Destroy them with your tongue!" Ok, I got carried away…but seriously, there are some days when I just feel the odds are stacked against me. Like my path is laced with hundreds of land mines and every step I take finds one. I am blown up only to step into another temptation/land mine. Some days I get so discouraged that I just seek them out. I just look for temptation that I can allow to trap me. What the heck…if you can't beat them, join them.

It is these days that I forget that the battle is won. That my God is 10 for 10 from the free throw line, high, oval hoops and all.

There is nothing that I can't over come with Him.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

If you are pursuing a relationship with Christ, there will be NO temptation that you together can't over come. I don't pretend to know what it is that tempts you: pornography, lust, vanity, working out too much or not enough, a short temper, stubbornness, infidelity, work, laziness, alcohol, designer labels and shopping malls…I have no idea. Maybe you are not even at a place in your life where you can identify your temptations. Think about it. What is keeping you from being the person that you could be? What consistently "trips" you up?

Many of us have prayed "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." This is a plea for help. Today pray that God would help you identify what it is in your life that is separating you from Him. Pray for victory over these things.

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.

Today remember the playing field can be leveled. Rejoice in that!

Luke 8:13 "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

Make your roots deep by daily studying the Bible. Read it with a pen and paper in hand writing down your thoughts and anticipating God to reveal truth to you. This will sharpen your resistance of temptation. Think of it as training for a fight or a marathon.

2 Peter 2:9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

The Power of Conversation

You have been selected, along with hundreds of others, to receive a weekly newsletter. This will include stories and practical truths combined with my opinions and thoughts. I will always do my best to keep this interesting and you are welcome to reply with your thoughts and stories of application. Hopefully you can take something away from the letters that you receive, however, I guarantee that you will not always agree with everything I have to write. My spelling promises to often be wrong, my grammar will rarely be perfect, and I can give you expectations of politically incorrect statements. Forgive me in advance. If you find value in the story told, please forward it to your email contacts. To subscribe, email emailjbp@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, email with the subject "no more".

The power of conversation and a smile. I recently had to travel with work and, while in the airport waiting for my return flight, I decided to try an experiment. I was going to go out of my way to talk to people. The waiting area was full of people glued to their lap tops or starring into space. Some were reading magazines while others watched outside the window. I hyped myself up with confidence and scouted for my first subject. Two guys beside me were in conversation about having never been to Dallas and what they were going to do when they got there. I chimed in, "you've never been to Dallas?" I followed up with questions like "where will you stay?" and "what do you intend to do there?". I continued by outlining an itinerary for the guys based on the north Dallas area they would be visiting. I drew maps and gave directions. We laughed, and as conversation flowed people began to line up around us waiting for the plane to allow for boarding. An older man in a cowboy hat recognized us as conversing strangers and he chimed in with his two cents as we talked about cities north of Dallas. "I remember when Frisco was nothing more than plow fields." he said. A girl standing in front of him responded, "Now it is great for shopping. You guys should visit the Shops at Legacy." I sat back and watched conversation flow contagiously between 6 strangers. The room, where quite strangers once sat, was now filled with talk and friendly smiles.

As I boarded the plane, I continued the experiment. I found a seat near the isle towards the back of the plane (it was unassigned seating). I left a seat open between me and a stranger sitting by the window. As the plane filled with people I saw a kid lugging a skateboard down the isle looking for a seat. I smiled, motioned him over, and stood up giving him the middle seat between the stranger and I. "You skate?" I asked. And conversation took off. He was 11 and lived in Missouri. He was traveling to Dallas for his cousin's wedding. He began to point out the other members of his family on the plane, telling me his 16 year old brother was in the row directly in front of us. As the plane started to move I engaged the stranger by the window into the conversation, "how about you sir...what do you do?" He was a 45 year old attorney from Tyler. As the three of us laughed about my fear of flying, I saw the older brother sitting in front of us trying to peek back and see what all the discussion was about. The guys beside him evidently chose not to talk. He looked as though he didn't realize his little brother could be so interesting as to hold a conversation with 2 strange men. As we traveled 12,000 feet above the Earth the three of us talked more, and the attorney asked the boy if he liked to play games. When he responded "yes" the attorney pulled out a new Sony PSP and handed it to him to play. "Wow!" the kid exclaimed, and now the older brother was really jealous. He tried to completely turn in his seat to see what was going on.

We continued our flight sharing stories and discussing our interests. As the plane landed the 11 year old talked about how he loved to play lacrosse and how he had two games every Sunday morning. "What about Church?" the attorney asked him almost sarcastically as the plane pulled up to the gate in Dallas. The 11 year old handed back the PSP and began gathering his stuff responding, "Oh, I'm not a Christian."

What do you say? How do you respond? Love? Acceptance? Questions? Nothing?
An odd ending to the story, I know. But that is how it happened.

Today I encourage you to talk to strangers. To love the "unlovable" and to smile so much that others may question your sanity. How can you positively effect every single person you come in contact with today? Can you positively effect every single person you come in contact with? Contemplate these questions and respond with application and follow through.

Also prepare for the unexpected response.

I care about you and I am praying for you and yours.

-- Jonathan Pokluda

I Want That!

You have been selected, along with hundreds of others, to receive a weekly newsletter. This will include stories and practical truths combined with my opinions and thoughts. I will always do my best to keep this interesting and you are welcome to reply with your thoughts and stories of application. Hopefully you can take something away from the letters that you receive, however, I guarantee that you will not always agree with everything I have to write. My spelling promises to often be wrong, my grammar will rarely be perfect, and I can give you expectations of politically incorrect statements. Forgive me in advance. If you find value in the story told, please forward it to your email contacts. To subscribe, email provokethought@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. To unsubscribe, email with the subject "no more".

Not to want.
Hello. My name is JP and I am a guy who suffers from wanting. (It feels good to get that off my chest) A friend put it well the other day saying I am "discontent by nature". I always want more...more money, a newer car, a better job, a bigger house...etc... Sales organizations love me. They say I am driven, focused, motivated, and determined...hmm...words for my resume.

My "wanting" often plays out like this...I need a new pair of tennis shoes. I focus time and energy in researching the latest and greatest shoes on the market. It's fun. I am excited. I look online to see what kinds of deals I can get on the pair that I want. I purchase them. YES! I got my shoes! I wear them. And then, I put them with the last three pairs that I needed and bought. When it's just shoes I get off easy. When it is a 1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Convertible...not so easy. (For those of you that do not know, I have convertible pile of rust that I once needed now taking up our driveway)

After all, how am I not to want with MTV showing me incredible "Cribs", closets bigger then my living room filled with more clothes than I will own in a life time, and "rides" "pimped" out with more electronics then my house. I want all of that and I want a job that will enable me to get it. It is fun to daydream about things that I want and it is fun to strategize on how I can get them. Wanting these things also leads to motivation, determination, being driven and focused. These are positive words that are born because of the negative characteristic, discontentment.

Why is this a bad thing? Why are we told to be content in all things? Hold on...I am about to get philosophical...

Everyone desires to be happy. Contentment is synonymous with happiness. We want happiness therefore we desire things that we think will make us happy. We want to have those things, so that we no longer want them, so that we can be content (or happy). Essentially we want what makes us happy so that we can be happy not wanting. The unfortunate caveat to this is no "thing" will make you not want.

From Dictionary.com
happy
Part of Speech: adjective 1
Definition: joyous
Synonyms: content, contented, (others omitted)

content
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: 1.) Happy; 2.) Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied.

How then, am I supposed to be successful in sales if I don't "want" and I am comfortable (or content)? Here is a very small, but important, change in thinking. Rather than saying "I want new stuff, so I will work hard in order to get new stuff". Say "I will work hard as to Glorify my God and if I am rewarded for doing so, I will take pleasure in that". It is a change of mind and of heart.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying things as long as you do not depend on things for enjoyment. I was talking to my friend this morning that just returned last night from New Orleans. He was there gutting houses that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and contaminated floodwaters. He said they filled massive containers with tons and tons of stuff i.e. electronics, appliances, etc...; stuff that was once valuable but now trash. He communicated that the experience made him wish he had less.

Another thing to keep in mind is that companies spend Billions of dollars in advertising campaigns and marketing strategies. They hire the very brightest individuals to team up in efforts to get you to buy their product. They are not necessarily there to show you where to find something you need but rather to convince you that you need it. People like me, who suffer from wanting, are out numbered and out witted. I can't wait to give these folks my money so that I can get something soon to be worthless in return. This makes their Billions of dollars spent worthwhile. There is nothing wrong with enjoying things as long as you do not depend on things for enjoyment.

Contentment. To not want. What an interesting concept.

Today I challenge you to give thanks for what you have.

I care about you and I am praying for you and yours.

In His Grip, JP

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your 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."

Matthew 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

Your Potential for Good...

John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

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Potential for good.

What is your potential for good? Asked in a different way....What is your ability to do good and do you maximize it?

I was told it was C.S. Lewis who said however great your ability to do good, so great is your potential to do evil. An ant has very little potential for good and very little potential for evil. A cat may have a little greater potential for good and evil. Dogs or Cattle have even a greater potential for good and in turn a greater potential for evil. For example: a dog may bite someone or tear up the trash but a dog can also lead the blind or fetch the newspaper.

Humans take the cake. Homo sapiens as a species have the greatest potential for good and evil. This potential also changes with our situation or circumstance. For example, a well respected leader may have greater potential for good and evil than someone with less credibility. In addition, someone who is always in the spot light may have greater potential also. Hence with fame comes great responsibility. Think of the President, for example, great is his potential for good and also great is his potential for evil.

So, back to you. How much good are you capable of? Do you enjoy doing good? I recently had a group of guys over. The comment was made that if we all put our heads and our hearts together we could change the world (for the better). We, however, must not have believed this because we haven't done anything yet. We lacked follow through. Homo sapiens, as a species, are also terrible at follow through. we can think of hundreds of reasons not to do something as opposed to concentrating on the one reason to do it. We have good ideas but we lack focus and follow through.

I know by writing this there is the possibility that I could push someone to over committing. I know that you are busy with your family, job, relationships and I acknowledge that some may have tons of other things going on.

Today I encourage you to think of one good thing you can do that may maximize your potential for good. And then...see it to failure. If it is a bad idea...prove it by trying. Don't talk yourself out of follow through. Write it down and make it happen.

What is your potential for good?

Psalm 34:14
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 37:27
Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.