I’ll be teaching from Acts 16:1-12, where we find Paul and his companions are on a missionary journey. They eventually find themselves in Macedonia. It’s really cool to see how they ended up there. Read it here. My wife and youngest daughter, along with four others, are currently in Macedonia on a Young Life mission trip. You can follow their journey here.

If you’re familiar with the New Testament of the Bible, you know the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) primarily give us a picture of the three-year public ministry of Jesus. Each writer has a different take on events, but it’s clear that the main figure is always Jesus.

Then we come to the book of Acts. It’s written by Luke, who also wrote the gospel of Luke. In the book of Acts, he’s giving us an historical account of the early church. Who started it? How? Where? What were the issues they faced? It’s a fascinating and fast-paced read.

The book of Acts is also referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, but a better name would be the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Of course we never really “see” Him, but it’s His power and wisdom at work in the men and women we read about. Whereas in the gospels the main figure was Jesus–in Acts, we could say the main figure is the Holy Spirit.

Just as it is today, Jesus was no longer walking around with His disciples in Acts. He had ascended to heaven and it was the Holy Spirit who then came to carry on the work of Jesus. He would do it by living in and through those who placed their faith in Jesus. It’s interesting that in Acts 16, Luke even refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Jesus.”

The Holy Spirit came to point us to Jesus. To remind us of what Jesus taught. To glorify Jesus.

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now called “Cru”), used to invite Jesus to walk around in his body. That’s what the Holy Spirit does–He walks around in our bodies, manifests the life of Jesus and accomplishes His purposes, in His ways and in His timing.

And that’s the only way the couple I’m marrying today will experience the life and the marriage God intends for them. There’s no other way for them to do it. There’s no other way for Robyn and me. There’s no other way for you.

Marriage was God’s idea and He has given us instructions on how to do it. He has also put His Spirit in us to give us the power to live out those instructions.

A successful marriage is only possible when both husband and wife walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. In our own strength, we are naturally selfish and committed to getting our needs and desires fulfilled. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in us, we become committed to meeting the needs and desires of our spouse.

If you’re not married but would one day like to be–I encourage you to focus on being the kind of person I’ve just described. Surrender your life to Christ and invite Him to walk around in your body by the power of the Holy Spirit. Seek God. Make it your goal to know Him and love Him.

Then ask God to bring you a spouse who is doing the same.

If you’re already married, the counsel is the same–live in the power of the Holy Spirit and be passionately committed to loving and serving the person you’re with now. It’s not to dump your spouse and look for someone new.

Of course, this all works much better if both you and your spouse are committed to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, but since you can’t control your spouse–just do what you know to do.

Let God work on your spouse. You just work on you.

By the way, when done God’s way, marriage is a reflection of His love for the church. (Read Ephesians 5:22-33) When a husband and wife are committed to walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and fulfilling the roles and responsibilities God has given them–others will see it. They’ll see something special, something only God could do. And they’ll want to experience it also.

So if there’s that much riding on marriage, why would we ever think we don’t need God’s continual power and presence in our lives to pull it off?

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When we’re in a crisis, we want to know God sees and is going to help.

When we have an unmet need, we want to know God is aware and is already working out the solution.

We want to know we have His attention. That He’s really there. That we matter to Him. That He truly cares about us.

Well, there’s good news and bad news. We’ll go with the good news first.

The good news is that we do have God’s attention. He really does exist. We matter greatly to Him. And He cares about us more than we can even begin to understand.

Whenever you’re tempted to doubt that–go back to Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

You and I were completely alienated from Him. We were rebels. We were objects of His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). And yet God reached out to us. He demonstrated His love for us. God Himself took on the punishment we had earned for rebelling against Him.

It’s easy to forget that, isn’t it? We focus so much of our attention on our circumstances that it’s easy to lose sight of God. When I focus on what I see around me, God seems small. And unconcerned. Even uncaring.

And that leads us to the bad news: Even though we have God’s attention, God doesn’t have our attention.

We’re more concerned with our ways, our plans, our desires and our goals. We’re not all that interested in doing life God’s way. We just want Him to bless our way. And it frustrates us when He won’t cooperate.

I’ve said it before, but God isn’t in the habit of pushing His way to the front. I was talking with a friend this morning whose wedding I’ll be performing on Saturday. He was telling me about how hard it was to put the seating chart together for the reception. Who should sit near the front? Who’s going to be in the back?

It occurred to me that if God was invited to a wedding, He’d sit in the back. Unless He was invited to come to the front. Where He belongs.

And that’s what we have to do. We have to invite Him to come to the front. Of our lives. Of our marriages. Of our families. Of our work. Of our everything.

It’s His rightful place. It’s where we need Him to be. It’s how life is supposed to work.

But God lets us choose Him. Or not.

Know this: you have all of God’s attention. The degree to which you will experience the life He has for you will depend on the amount of your attention that He has.

You and I were not designed to live apart from an intimate, growing love relationship with God. And that begins by placing our trust in Jesus to forgive our sin. Then we grow in our relationship with Him and experience His wisdom and power and blessing as we surrender ourselves completely to Him and ask the Holy Spirit to be in control of us.

You have God’s attention. Don’t wonder about that any more.

The real question is: Does He have yours?

Are you at the point where you can’t see any way out? No way that things can get better?

Your spouse wants a divorce. Your company is laying people off. Your child is a drug addict. Your husband is addicted to porn. Your loved one was diagnosed with cancer.

Maybe you’ve been struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts. Maybe circumstances are pretty good, but you can’t get free from the anxiety and worry.

How desperate is your situation?

And what are you going to do? Who are you going to turn to?

For the past few days, I’ve been reading in the book of Acts. It’s the Acts of the Apostles, but the book should really be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. He did everything. The apostles were just instruments in His hands.

He told people where to go. He told them what to do and say. He revealed truth. He filled people with power.

He gave them the ability to speak other languages. He gave them power to heal and raise the dead.

Wherever and whenever the Holy Spirit showed up–things changed.

Have you lost hope? Is your situation desperate?

Read the book of Acts. Read John 14-16 where Jesus spoke extensively about the Holy Spirit and what He would do when He came. Cry out to God to fill you with His Holy Spirit. Give Him total control of your life. Don’t hold anything back.

The Holy Spirit can do things you could never do. He can change your circumstances or He can change you. Either way, you win. He will not force Himself on you though. He will wait for you to invite Him to be in control. You can continue to do things in your own wisdom and strength or you can turn to Him for help.

Are you willing to abandon yourself to the Holy Spirit?

***************************************************

My wife and daughter, along with four other Young Life leaders from Northwest Arkansas, are leaving on Wednesday (5/16) for a mission trip to Macedonia. Can I ask you to pray for the Holy Spirit to use them in a great way over the next week and a half?

You can follow the ministry of Young Life in Northwest Arkansas and the trip to Macedonia on their new blog.

I was about to throw the lamp in the garbage when I saw the problem. The lamp was plugged into the power strip and the extension cord was plugged into the wall outlet, but the power strip was not plugged into the extension cord. I could have tried a hundred light bulbs, but they were never going to give off light because there was not one bit of power flowing into the lamp.

No power. No light.

You already know where this is going, don’t you?

And yet, knowing isn’t enough, is it?

It wasn’t enough for me to know the lamp wasn’t getting power, I had to do something.

How many of us know that the power, the wisdom, the grace, the everything we need for life comes from God, but we fail to do anything about it? We never get ourselves plugged into Him.

Instead, we plug into the world. And we miss out on the life God has in store for us. But we also make a mess of our lives, our relationships, our finances and anything else we touch.

God offers to give us wisdom, but we settle for the principles of the world. God offers us His power, but we’re content to struggle in our own strength. God offers to supply our needs, but we’d rather anxiously run about supplying them ourselves.

Maybe you’re thinking, “That’s not true–I do want God’s wisdom and power and provision.”

Do you? Do I?

In John 15, Jesus said:

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

If you and I want a truly different life than we’re experiencing, then we need a truly different source of life.

Jesus said to remain in Him just like a branch remains in the vine. Are you and I that connected to Jesus?

We don’t find Him online or on Facebook or on television or in a playlist of our favorite secular songs. We don’t find Jesus as we hurry out the door to go to work or to class. We don’t find Him in the relationship with the person that doesn’t even know Him.

Have you noticed that God doesn’t push Himself on us?

He doesn’t demand we do things His way. He doesn’t step in and override our choices.

He invites us to seek Him. He doesn’t make us.

He offers His wisdom and power. He doesn’t force us to accept them.

He lets us choose Him. Or not.

Has your light gone out? Have your choices made a mess of things? Do you lack the power or even the desire to live according to God’s ways? Has all motivation to read the Bible gone?

You’re unplugged.

Nothing will change until You get plugged in again.

It’s time. Today. Right now.

Don’t stay unplugged any longer.

Turn off the noise. Pick up your Bible. Listen to God. Talk to Him. Tell Him You need Him and you want Him. If you don’t want Him, then at least tell Him you want to want Him. Ask Him for help. He’ll give it.

I grew up in Brick, New Jersey, a beach town about sixty miles south of New York and sixty miles east of Philadelphia. Now I live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I love it here, but I do miss the beach.

From my home in Fayetteville, it’s about 800 miles to Panama City Beach, Florida. Let’s say it’s my goal to drive there for a vacation this summer. Let’s also say it’s your goal to stop me from reaching my destination and the only rule is this: you can’t physically touch me, my car or the roads between my house and the beach.

So for example, you can’t dig an enormous hole around my house so I can’t even leave and you can’t blow up the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.

How would you stop me from going to Panama City Beach this summer?

I can think of several ways you might be able to stop me or at least delay me.

You could try and convince me that Panama City isn’t all that great. Even though I’ve been to many beaches, I’ve never actually been to that one. So you could tell me it’s too crowded or too expensive or too far. If you could cause me to doubt how good Panama City is, then maybe I wouldn’t go.

Assuming I didn’t have a GPS, you could give me wrong directions or place detour signs along my route. I might eventually find my way there, but it would take longer and be much more frustrating.

You could also tempt me to go somewhere else. You might try telling me how great Chicago is and how much fun it would be to see a Cubs game at Wrigley field this summer. That would have me headed in the opposite direction from Panama City. If that didn’t work, you might try getting me to go to a different beach, like Fort Morgan, Alabama. That would probably seem like a much better idea to me since I’ve been there before and enjoyed it.

As a part of any of these strategies, you could also enlist other people to go along with your plan. Hearing from several sources that Panama City isn’t very good or that Chicago is a much better idea might convince me to change my mind.

Here’s my point–because you can’t actually touch me, you would have to somehow deceive me or tempt me to not go to Panama City Beach for my vacation.

And that’s exactly how Satan keeps us from moving in the right direction toward God and His will for our lives. Because he ultimately has no power over us, all he can do is lie to us and tempt us.

Of course, he’s very good at that. Jesus called him the “father of lies.” (John 8:44) In Genesis 3, Satan deceives Adam and Eve. In Matthew 4, he tries to even tempt Jesus. In Revelation 12, John refers to Satan as the one who “leads the whole world astray.”

We’re dealing with a very powerful, very intelligent, very evil being. His every intention toward us is evil and destructive. And his most powerful weapon is deception.

As powerful and evil as he is, the truth is stronger. Don’t ever doubt that. God and the truth of His word is more powerful and effective than anything Satan can throw at us.

To deceive means: to cause to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid.

Satan’s strategy in your life is to get you to accept something as true when in fact it’s false.

Here’s why deception is such a powerful weapon–the thing you’re believing seems to be true to you. If you knew it was false, you wouldn’t believe it. But that’s the very problem–you don’t know that what you’re believing is a lie.

Sometimes we can believe something for so long, it just seems to be true. Does that make it true? No, but it can seem to be true.

What are some of the lies we believe that may now seem like truth to us? Well, the list is endless, but here are a few:

• I’ve done things God can’t forgive.
• I’m not worthy of God’s love.
• I’m a disappointment to God.
• I’m a bad person.
• I’m not smart enough or pretty enough.
• If God was good and loving, He wouldn’t have let __________________ happen.
• If I get this job or this person or this house or this pair of jeans, then I’ll be happy.
• I know I shouldn’t _______________, but it won’t hurt me if I do it anyway.
• I need _______________ to feel good.
• God let me down, so I will need to take care of myself and do things my way.

So why is all this important? Because my view of God and my view of myself will determine everything I do. Everything.

For example, if I believe I’ve done things God can’t forgive and those things have made me unlovable, then I will act accordingly. If I believe God can’t forgive me, then why seek Him? Why trust Him? If I’m so bad that He can’t even love me any more, then why even try to do what’s right?

Here’s a way you might be able to identify whether or not you’re being deceived: if you believe something about God or yourself that you would never expect someone else to believe, then it’s probably a lie and you’re being deceived by it.

For example, if you’re telling yourself that God is angry and disappointed with you because of something you’ve done and that He sees you as a bad person, then stop and ask yourself, “Would I tell my best friend to also believe this?”

You would probably remind your friend of God’s love and grace and forgiveness. If that’s what you would do for a friend, then why would you not do it for yourself?

It’s because you’ve been deceived.

In John 8, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

We are set free from Satan’s lies and deceptions when we know the truth. We know the truth by holding to Jesus’ teachings.

God is good and He has a good plan for your life. Satan will do whatever he can to keep you from experiencing God and His goodness, but his only real weapons are lies. He will try to deceive you and tempt you to live your life in the way you think is best, not the way God has laid out for you in His word.

At the root of extra-marital affairs, addictions, abusive behavior, cheating on your taxes or any number of wrong behaviors is a lie. A lie that leads to deception. A lie that tempts us to go our own way.

Our defense, our only defense, is to know the truth of God’s word, so we can reject the lies before they take root in our minds and deceive us into thinking they’re actually true.

Then earlier this week, Arkansas head coach, Bobby Petrino, was involved in a motorcycle accident. He suffered four broken ribs, a cracked vertebrae and some cuts and bruises on his face. What wasn’t known until yesterday was that he’d also had a passenger with him, 25 year-old, Jessica Dorrell, a young woman he’d recently hired to work in the football program. Last night, Petrino admitted to an “inappropriate relationship” with her. Petrino is now on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of athletic director, Jeff Long’s, investigation.

I was saddened and disappointed by the Penn State situation and I feel the same way now. If there’s one lesson that comes from these two situations, it’s this: sin destroys.

Bobby Petrino, despite a 21-4 record over the past two seasons, could end up losing his job. He has brought shame and embarrassment on himself, his family and the University of Arkansas. And sadly, the woman with whom he had the “inappropriate relationship” was engaged to be married soon. The website that contained the details of her wedding has now been taken down.

Sin destroys. It destroys us and those around us. The consequences may not always be immediate or even noticeable, but that only means sin is doing it’s destructive work unnoticed, in secret. For now anyway.

Sin destroys. It’s a promise.

Before the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River to occupy the land God had promised to them, Moses told them:

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time. (Deuteronomy 4:39-40)

God’s commands aren’t meant to rob of us of a good time, they’re meant to provide for us and protect us. They teach us how to live so that “it may go well” with us. The Author of life knows best how it should be lived. He knows that when we stray from Him and go our own way, the result is destruction. We see that destruction all around us, everyday.

There is good news though.

Today is Good Friday. It’s the day Jesus was betrayed and unjustly put to death. It’s the day my sin was put on the One who knew no sin. Jesus was put to death for the sin I committed. He took the punishment I had earned. He took my punishment and in exchange gave me His right standing before His Father.

I deserved death, but was given life.

I was an enemy of God, but through the death of Jesus, I became His child and His friend. I have peace with God through Christ.

What sin destroys, God redeems.

Yes, sin is destructive and carries with it consequences, but God is greater than the destructive force of sin. And He can even take the terrible consequences of our sin and use them for our ultimate good…if only we will turn from going our own way and begin to walk according to His ways.

Should Bobby Petrino still be allowed to coach the Arkansas Razorbacks? Well, he doesn’t really deserve to, does he? How can he, with any credibility, tell his players to be men of character after he betrayed the trust of his wife, his supervisor and the people of Arkansas?

But you and I are also guilty of betrayal, aren’t we? We betrayed Jesus. And instead of the punishment we deserve, by grace we’ve received forgiveness.

I don’t know what should happen with Coach Petrino. I just know I’m not able to throw the first stone. I’m a man in need of grace myself.

My hope is that Coach Petrino would come to know the forgiveness of Christ, because I care far more about his soul and his marriage than about how many games he wins.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

It’s a day like today that gives us a little glimpse of heaven. And when I say “heaven”, I mean the new earth. Revelation 21:1-5 says:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Heaven is not some spiritual dimension in which we’ll float around forever as disembodied spirits. If that’s been your view, then you probably haven’t been very excited about spending an eternity there. Maybe you’ve felt the tension I used to feel. You know you should desire to be in heaven, but if you’re honest–you’re a lot more attracted to a beautiful spring day on earth.

Well, the good news is that heaven will be much like the beautiful spring day…only without sin, pain or death. The first two chapters of Genesis and the last two chapters of Revelation give us a picture of what God intended. We’ll have bodies. We’ll recognize each other. We’ll eat and drink. We’ll work (and enjoy it!). We’ll live in friendship with others. We’ll worship. And God will be there with us. I believe heaven will be far better than we can imagine, but it will not be unfamiliar to us.

But we’re not there yet, are we?

My friend Jeff had another surgery this week to remove a tumor from his liver. He’s been battling liver and colon cancer for over a year. My son-in-law is a United States Marine and is currently deployed to Afghanistan. He would confirm it’s not heaven. He’s in a war.

This is not peace time. Not in Afghanistan. And not where you live either.

We are in a spiritual fight for our lives. The battles may often be unseen, but they are no less real.

Yesterday, a very close friend of mine was attacked. It was a spiritual attack. It was powerful. It was well-coordinated and well-timed. And it was pure evil.

Heaven is real. It will exceed our wildest expectations. And for now, we get glimpses of it. But let’s not forget we’re in a war. A real one. With deadly, eternal consequences. It’s not being fought in the mountains of Afghanistan. It’s being fought in our minds.

Satan and the demons that fight with him are liars. They are deceivers. They are tempters. Their goal is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). One of their most effective strategies is whispering lies to us. Lies about God. Lies about ourselves. Lies about this life.

If we listen to a lie long enough–we begin to believe it’s true. We begin to repeat it to ourselves. Our emotions line up with it. So does our behavior.

Are you battling an addiction? A destructive behavior? A bad habit you can’t break?

Do you often feel anxious? Or angry? Or discouraged? Or worried?

Then you’re believing a lie. And the only defense is to know the truth and act on it. There’s no other way.

1 John 5:19 tells us that “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” You and I live in enemy territory. One day, God will banish Satan and his demonic army to hell, but that hasn’t happened yet. Today, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

You and I are called to submit ourselves to God, stop living according to the world’s ways and be transformed as our minds are renewed (Romans 12:1-2). We become more like Christ when we begin to think and act like He does. That makes us useful in God’s hands in advancing His kingdom on earth.

It’s easy to let sunny spring days, material things and physical pleasures numb us to the fact that there’s a war raging all around us. It doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy life. But it does mean we don’t forget we’re not really home yet. This isn’t heaven. There’s still a war to be fought.

I left out the first sentence in 1 Peter 5:8. It says, “Be self-controlled and alert.”

Are you?

When I was a kid, I loved watching C-SPAN. In particular, I loved watching the speeches on the floor of the House of Representatives. Yes, I know how geeky that sounds.

One of the things the Representatives would always say is, “I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks.” I take that to mean, “I might change my mind, so don’t hold this against me.”

In that spirit, I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks when it comes to teaching on marriage. Robyn and I have been married for almost 27 years and by implementing the teaching I’ll share below, we are experiencing some profound and even mysterious changes in our relationship. Our relationship is more thrilling and fulfilling than at any point in our marriage.

And yet I know we don’t understand everything and there’s still so much more to learn. So join us in the journey…

Genesis 2:18 says: The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Even after pronouncing all of creation “good,” God reveals that something is not good. It’s not good for the man to be alone. Even though Adam had an unhindered relationship with God, but God Himself says it’s not enough. So He chooses to create a woman through whom He would meet some of the man’s needs.

It’s unfortunate that the Hebrew words for “helper suitable” don’t translate any better than that. It makes the woman sound like an assistant to the man. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Maybe the best way to understand this phrase is to know that the Hebrew words being used here for “helper suitable” twice refer to the woman God was creating for Adam and 19 times to refer to God Himself and His role over the nation of Israel.

Think about that for a minute. God intentionally chooses to use the same language to describe a wife that He uses to describe Himself. That’s huge! The woman is not less than the man. She’s not the man’s assistant. She’s every bit his equal. Her role is even equated with God’s role. Again, those aren’t my words, they’re His.

Something big is going on here. Really big. There are very powerful, mysterious forces at work in this relationship between a man and a woman.

Now jump to Proverbs 31:10-12 with me…

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.

Again, it’s unfortunate how verse 10 gets translated. The Hebrew word for “noble character” actually means: “strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army.”

It sure seems that God had something more in mind than just “noble character.” Not that noble character is a bad thing, but I think we’ve missed something in the translation from Hebrew to English. What if the good thing to find is a wife who has the strength of an army?

Verse 11 says he has “full confidence” in her. This Hebrew word can also be translated: “to trust in, to feel secure, to feel safe.” When a husband finds a wife who is strong and one whom he can trust with his life, then he experiences good from her, not harm. Do you feel the power in that? The power for good? The potential power for harm?

Let’s look at the New Testament now. In Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul is giving instructions to husbands and wives. It’s a passage that has been badly misunderstood and used by men to exercise control over their wives. And that’s sad, because when understood properly and taken in context with the rest of the Bible–it leads to a joy-filled, exciting marriage.

Paul instructs wives to submit to their husbands and husbands are instructed to love their wives just as Christ loved the church, but then he drops this on us, “This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church.”

So the wife is to submit to the leadership of her husband, just as she would to Christ, by willingly placing herself under his care and protection. God then uses her husband to love her and lead her and bless her.

A husband is to love his wife by laying down his life for her just as Christ did for the church. He puts her needs above his own. He helps her become all she is meant to be. He nurtures and cares for her just as he would do for himself.

And when a husband and wife live that way–it’s a profound mystery. It’s an image of Christ’s relationship with the church. And that’s where we begin to see very powerful forces at work. The marriage relationship is unlike any other. Marriage alone can give us a picture of how God relates to His people.

The goal of marriage is oneness–two people becoming one. No wonder it can sometimes be so difficult and even volatile. Two very different people. Broken people. Coming together to be one. It can be the best of times or the worst of times.

The best of times when we do it God’s way. The worst of times when we don’t.

This kind of relationship only works when both the husband and wife are committed to knowing and loving God above everyone and everything else. It can’t work any other way. Marriage was God’s idea. It’s a spiritual relationship. It’s a profound mystery. It gives us a picture of God’s relationship with His people. How could we ever think it would work without God at the center of it and of our lives?

Can you see the incredible potential of marriage when done God’s way?

The wife submits to her husband and the husband loves his wife by giving up his life for her. He sacrifices for her to meet her needs before his own and works to help her become all she was designed to be while at the same time placing his trust in her. She takes seriously his trust and her role, knowing that she alone has been placed in his life by God to meet needs no one else can meet and to do him good, not harm all the days of her life.

Once again, I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks…

What about the disciples whom Jesus called? Peter and Andrew were casting a net into the lake when Jesus showed up and invited them to follow Him. James and John were fishing with their father when Jesus called them. Levi was at work collecting taxes when Jesus called him.

I’ll bet life for each of them was routine. One day was pretty much like the next. Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep. And do it all again the next day. And the next.

Throw in a couple errands or some homework, some family responsibilities or whatever technological distractions (phone, internet, television) we enjoy and our lives aren’t all that different than theirs. It’s all somewhat routine. One day dissolves into the next. And before we know it…another year has passed.

Routine. Sameness. Life on auto-pilot.

It sounds boring, doesn’t it?

In a sense though, it’s what we strive for everyday. We want a life that’s free of unnecessary risks. We do everything we can to minimize pain and maximize pleasure. We work hard to create an environment for ourselves that’s safe, secure and predictable.

The last thing we want is for anything to disturb or disrupt our world.

But an undisturbed or undisrupted (I think I made up that word) life is all about me. It’s a selfish, self-centered, me-first life.

It’s not a life that God blesses. It’s not a life that advances His kingdom. It’s a life quickly forgotten. It’s a life of minimal value or impact.

We can’t have it both ways. We can’t arrange for ourselves a safe, comfortable existence, but also experience God’s presence and power in our lives. It’s what I do though. I play it safe. I avoid risk. I don’t want to be disturbed. And I certainly don’t want to be disrupted.

In other words, I want to be the lord of my life. I want to call the shots. I want to choose where I’ll live and what I’ll do. I will decide if and when plans need to be changed.

But God is a disruptor.

He disrupted Moses. He disrupted Abraham. He disrupted Noah. He disrupted the disciples.

He disrupted everyone He’s ever used to accomplish anything great.

Disruption is the catalyst for adventure. I love how adventure is defined:

• an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks
• the encountering of risks
• an exciting or remarkable experience

Doesn’t every great story involve some element of danger, unknown risks and remarkable, exciting experiences?

I wonder how many men (or women) experience a mid-life crisis because they’ve avoided the elements of a great story. When our most exciting experience is the roller coaster at Six Flags and we’ve structured life for ourselves and our families to be risk-free, then no wonder we’re looking for something to make us feel alive by the time we reach our 40′s.

Of course the extra-marital affair or expensive new car is the wrong type of excitement and adventure. What we’re really looking for is the kind of adventure only God can bring. We were designed to live in relationship with God and partner with Him in advancing His kingdom. And that will require us to walk by faith, overcome obstacles, encounter risks and battle an enemy.

That kind of adventure is unsettling, terrifying, thrilling and satisfying all at the same time. It requires everything we’ve got. And some. It means mistakes will be inevitable. Failure will be possible. And danger is a given.

Or we can just keep playing it safe. We can be content to know about God, but not ever really know Him. If we sense Him calling us to something risky, we can convince ourselves it’s not the “wise” thing to do.

Leaving your dad and your steady fishing job to follow a new rabbi would be absurd, right? So would leaving the safety of your home of forty years to go confront a world leader. And building a boat in the middle of nowhere because God told you to…well, that only sets you up for ridicule.

Is God stirring something inside you? If He called you to join Him in an adventure would you be alert enough to His voice to even hear Him?

Maybe He’s getting ready to do something in you or around you or through you that will totally disrupt your life. Will you welcome it? Or will you dismiss it as too risky or inconvenient or impractical? Will you retreat to the comfort of your routine or when your moment comes, will you say “yes” and go with God?

It’s interesting–Noah, Abraham, Moses, the disciples–none of them were looking for a change. They weren’t praying for an adventure. God just disrupted them with one.

So maybe we don’t need to pray for an adventure. Maybe it’s enough to ask God to make us ready to say “yes” to one when our moment comes.