Tag: discipline

Fudgee-O’s and the Confessions of A Sugaholic!

Fudgee-O

When I got up on the platform on Sunday morning I never really dreamed that I would be THAT honest about how vulnerable I was to temptation! If you didn’t get a chance to hear the message, you can watch it here.

So while we’re being honest, let’s at least admit that we ALL have problems with “Fudgee-O’s”… it’s simply that your version of temptation may be different than mine. For you it may be pornography, or alcohol, or gambling, or a host of other things.

But we all seem to show up to indulge in these temptations in the same place… the ‘dark playground’; that place that you go to ‘play’ where you know you shouldn’t be, but you still try to get as much fun out of your time there.

The sad reality, and unfortunately I speak from experience, is that the ‘dark playground’ is never really that fun of a place to be in the first place. Yes, for a moment you may get a rush from playing with your ‘toxic toys’, eating all those cookies, downing all that alcohol… but you know that lurking in the shadows are other people, just like you, hoarding their toys trying not to be noticed.

It’s not a fun playground to play in at all. For the whole time you are ‘in’ the playground, there is a part of you crying out, pleading with you to leave your toys on the ground and get out!

I shared James 4:7 on Sunday which says to “stand against the devil, and the devil will run from you.” (NCV). Reading on in verse 8 it shows us how to exactly do that… “Come near to God, and God will come near to you… you who are trying to follow God and the world at the same time, make your thinking pure.”

Really? All the times I’ve heard people repeat that verse to “come near to God and God will come near to you” is about Him helping me stay out of the ‘dark playground’?!?! Wow!!!! What a revelation! All I have to do is simply choose to start walking towards God instead of the dark playground… and HE will come near to me; perhaps even as fast as the Father looking for the prodigal son!

So… what do we now do with this awesome news?!? There is an answer to the dark playground… and that is the Light of the Father. I know, it seems so simple… and I also know that the playground will keep on calling and telling you that ‘this’ time it will be SO much better than the other times… ALL the cookies will taste as good as the first! But let’s be honest, we all know that is a lie. The pleasure is NEVER worth the pain.

So I’ll walk past those Fudgee-O’s today. Any encounter those cookies have with me never ends well. Instead I’ll choose to come closer to God knowing that He will come closer to me. Because as you and I both know, the longer you stay away from the dark playground, the more you wonder why you ever chose to go play there in the first place.

At least that’s how I see it,

 

C

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Why Should I Read The Bible?

I just came back from vacation. While I was packing before I left, I stared at my Bible and dealt with the “is this going to put my weight over my luggage allowance?” My mind started justifying leaving it behind and then read it on my phone or iPad.

But my Bible is what I use every day as part of my time spent with God. I even underline it with one of those four-colour pens that click (feel like I’m in middle school each time I change colours).

Mike and I did our latest video on why reading the Bible is so important. Take a couple of minutes and hear why we feel like taking time reading the Bible matters so much.

At least that’s how I see it,

 

C

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Which Man Will I Be Today?

I have to be honest with you. I have personal pep talks every day.

No, I don’t look in the mirror and yell “YOU CAN DO IT!!!!” like some crazed Rob Schneider with a sombrero on my head! No, every day I need to remind myself of who I am, and Whose I am.

I know each day (each moment actually), I can be one of two men: the man whose desires are momentary and probably self-seeking, or the man whose desires are to honour and serve the One who loves me and has purposed a greater life in me.

So I choose (or at least attempt to choose) the man who God desires me to be… knowing that He who has done GREAT things in my life, has planned even GREATER if I choose to follow Him.

At least that’s how I see it,

 

C

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Stop Living On The Coast

Coasting is living on borrowed power. It’s deciding to allow the momentum of the past to get you through where you are right now and in the not-too-distant future.

But coasting cannot sustain itself. Friction, resistance, and gravity (all analogies of daily life) will consume quickly all that you’ve worked towards and slow you down… to the point where regaining momentum will actually be harder than simply keep going.

So keep going. Keep pedalling. Make today count. Don’t rely on yesterday to make your today.

 

 

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Stop The Traffic!

I’ve done some pretty dumb things as a kid… tried to jump over a ditch with my bike forgetting that front wheel was not attached properly… got my tongue stuck to a metal pole in the winter (yes… I had to find out for myself). I think one of the dumbest things I ever did was decide to become a toll-booth on my street with a big long stick telling people to stop… and go. When my dad saw me doing it… I stopped… and I ‘go’ed!

But my dad hardly remembers that moment. He disciplined me and was upset… but he loved me more than he was mad about what I did. It was his love that I remember that day… even though I DO remember the discipline.

Psalm 25:6-7 says “Overlook my youthful sins, O Lord! Look at me instead through eyes of mercy and forgiveness, through eyes of everlasting love and kindness (NLT).” Some people think that their past prohibits God from forgiving them. Nothing could be further from the truth. His love is everlasting. His forgiveness is always available.

At least that’s how I see it,

Craig

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