Many of my friends followed the series passionately. From what I understand the self proclaimed ‘King’ Lebron James, mega-superstar and face of the league, had the opportunity to lead his Miami Heat to victory in the waning moments of the final game.

With every second that passed, all eyes of the home crowd were fixed on their hero with a desperate longing for him to take over the game. Mere minutes stood between them and an all night celebration.

Yet each time a teammate passed him the ball, Lebron would quickly pass it off to someone else. One reporter described watching this painfully as though James were ‘handling a hot potato’.

Before the season, Lebron James was heralded as the savior of a franchise that had seen better days. Alongside a superstar squad of hard wood mercenaries, Miami was supposed to coast through the rest of the NBA en route to winning the Finals.

Yet under the brightest lights on the biggest stage, at the most crucial moment of his young career Lebron wilted under the pressure. A team of unsung players from Dallas – many of whom barely earned half Lebron’s salary – went home with the trophy.

We all encounter those pivotal moments. Standing at the proverbial crossroads, God gives us an opportunity to step up and advance His kingdom. For some, that means moving halfway around the world to plant a church among an indigenous people. For others it could be finally having that conversation with a friend or co worker about Christ.

When the Jewish people faced annihilation at the hands of a bitter enemy, an unlikely hero stood at the precipice of life and death.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:11

The novice royal could have been executed for approaching the throne without permission. Willing to risk the rage of an emotionally imbalanced king, young Esther’s courageous obedience led to the salvation of her people. She was not a skilled warrior or eloquent politician, just an attractive slave girl divinely thrust into the spotlight.

1 Corinthians 1:26-27 tells us:

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty…

God uses imperfect people like you and me to extend His kingdom and the message of Christ to the ends of the earth. This way He gets the glory, and it is obvious the power and ability to fulfill the mission is from Him. The responsibility is great, yet the rewards are far greater.

Under the brightest lights on eternity’s stage will you pass the ball for fear of failure? Or will you fulfill your God given destiny He has chosen you for?

What is God calling you to do today? Perhaps you were born for such a time as this.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

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Taken is the story of a retired government operative named Bryan Mills, played by Liam Neeson. His teenage daughter, Kim, is pampered by her mother and wealthy step father, yet still has a soft spot for her dad. Kim persuades her parents to allow her a trip to Paris under dubious circumstances with a friend. Upon their arrival they are kidnapped by a gang of Eastern European human traffickers to be sold into sexual slavery.

Mills, who up until this point has been a relatively mild mannered father, unleashes a side of himself that exhausts every resource to find and rescue his beloved daughter. There is absolutely no barrier that stands in his way. Through many car chases, explosions, and unique interrogation techniques Mills ferociously cuts a swath of destruction until he finds Kim and brings her home.

Those of us with children can relate to Mills. There was a moment when my daughter was very young when she was missing for a few seconds at a large department store. She had simply slipped into a circular clothes rack to play hide and seek. Yet for that short length of time the panic, fear, and anger I felt was simply indescribable. Only the overwhelming joy we felt when we found her surpassed it.

Why do we read Scripture that relates to God as our Father with a cold, detached familiarity? An earthly father’s relationship to his children pales in comparison to God’s extravagant love for us.

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him? Matthew 7:9-11

Much like the prodigal son in Luke 15, Mills’ young, impetuous daughter lied to her dad in order to go on an overseas trip against his better judgment. Though it was a catastrophe of her own making, her father turned into a fierce absolute force of nature that crushed everything in his path to return her safely home.

Romans 5:8 says that But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Mankind made a choice long ago to turn his back on God’s best and do things his own way. In spite of deserving the penalty of death for our sin God sent Jesus Christ through the annals of eternity to find us.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2:5-9

The hero of the gospel is Jesus Christ, Who willingly laid down His rights and role in the comforts of heaven.  Christ waded through the deep, dark waters of our misery and pain to find us and bring us home. He left no stone unturned; the very power of hell itself could not stop Him.

God the Father is relentless, undaunted, and frighteningly ruthless in His desire to rescue us. If you haven’t noticed, we as human beings have done a good job of making an enormous mess of our lives. Yet in spite of that we have a loving God Who will literally move heaven and earth to ensure our eternal destiny.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:31-32

No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you have done, you are not beyond the reach of the Father.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

Dear friends and family,

Several months ago Michelle and I sent you a letter regarding our upcoming mission trip to Lake Atitlan, Guatemala at the end of July. Many of you prayerfully sent gifts to assist us in our endeavor. To date, we have raised nearly $4000 toward our goal!

I received a phone call from the Colbert-Lauderdale Director of Missions, Eddy Gardner, who informed us that they are postponing our trip until 2012. After much prayer and consideration, their leadership felt the resources, money, and manpower at the Associational office would be best spent assisting the people of Phil Campbell, Hackleburg, and others in our area that were effected by the devastating tornado outbreak April 27.

We want to offer you who faithfully gave toward our mission trip one of two options:

• We can write you a check for the full amount of your gift and return it to you
• We are opening a high interest savings account at CB&S Bank in Florence. If you wish for your gift to still go toward our mission to Guatemala for next year, it will be placed in this account to draw interest to maximize what we can do next summer.

Michelle and I are grateful for your prayers and giving. Feel free to call me at 256.280.0038 or email me at revolutionsvoice@gmail.com to let me know what you wish to do. If we do not hear from you, we will simply place these funds in savings.

Thank you so much for your understanding. God bless!

In the meantime, we are asking that you would continue to pray for us that God would open doors for me to travel and preach the gospel. This is not only the call of God on my life but also how I support our family. Please feel free to pass our information along to leaders, student pastors, or anyone who may can use our ministry.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

Watching as the local weather reporters spoke of the impending events this week, my wheels began to turn as to our plan of action. Having been approved by our lead pastor and with key in hand our little band of four people, six goldfish, and one clinically insane dog headed to the basement at our church across town.

You should have seen it: we looked prepared to survive the zombie apocalypse. Air mattresses, a suitcase full of non perishable food and water, and our weather radio were first to set up. I located a television and DVD player so the kids could get their minds off the storm by watching cartoons we brought. Once my laptop was set up and connected to our local news station live feed, we were prepared to spend the night and ride out the storms.

The only two issues that first night were the dog wondering how much trouble he would get into for eating the goldfish, and my six year old finishing off the Chex mix and deciding if the dog treats did in fact taste like real bacon.

Around 7 am we returned home for a few hours. At 2:30pm it was reported the ‘worst’ of the storms was about to enter Alabama, so we loaded up minus the sleeping gear and food items and headed back to the church.

As soon as we entered the door, the sirens went off.

For the next couple of hours I stared in disbelief at the news feed online as reports of entire communities being wiped out one after another came in. The DVDs we brought for our kids no longer held interest as they came to see what was happening. While the power never went out at the church, the internet finally did. Once it seemed all clear we returned home passing down trees and debris along our route.

All I could think about were the number of large trees around our house. I tried to prepare myself for the worst, but as we pulled back into our driveway our only problem was the power being out. Even that was rectified around an hour or two later with a quick trip to the fuse box when I realized my neighbors had their lights on.

My hometown was not so fortunate. With power being out for an unknown period of time we welcomed our family to stay with us until the situation was resolved. A second hand report came in that the house we lived in just a year ago was flattened by a tornado, along with the gas station down the street.

This scene was replicated across the state. From Tuscaloosa to Athens and beyond homes destroyed, lives lost, and broken people left shell shocked to start the process of picking up the pieces to start over.

I have no words of great wisdom, no great spiritual epiphanies. I ask ‘why’ along side many of you. The only constant I can cling to is this:

God is good. He is still enthroned, in control, sovereign and desperate to save.

At one point during the night my daughter asked tearfully about our possessions at our house. We explained we brought the most important things with us and pointed to each other. God reminds us that while our world may be crumbling around us, His heart is for His children and those He longs to welcome into His ever extending family

Moments like these cause us to reflect on what is ultimately important.  Is there a family member you need to reconcile with? Do you cling needlessly to possessions or status? Most of all, are you sure of where you will spend eternity?

Do not wait until the sirens go off. Make the most of today because as we have seen, tomorrow is not promised.

That book was Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt.

Platt, the lead pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, is quick to point readers to Christ and away from himself  – which is an unfortunate anomaly in our era of Christian celebrity.

Drawing directly from God’s Word, Michelle and I have been challenged this year to follow through with the Radical Experiment. Having stepped out in faith to become a full time evangelist and with passports on the way for our first foreign mission trip to Guatemala, every day finds a new departure from our spiritual status quo.

Just in time to wreck our world again, Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God has hit the shelves:

I have purchased two copies: one for my personal library and one to give away here at voiceoftherevolution.com. (Who am I kidding, I’ll end up giving this copy away when I’m done.)

All you must do to enter is to leave a comment below of one radical step of faith God has led or is leading you to make. For some it could be reading the Bible through in one year for the first time. You may have sold your flatscreen to give to foreign missions, or you may be led to move your family halfway around the world to plant a church. For some of you, just walking across the street to share Christ with your neighbor is an enormous step.

My hope is that by sharing and reading, our faith will be encouraged and strengthened as we seek God’s will and desire for our lives and our churches.

One random winner will be announced next Wednesday, April 26th. Be sure to include your email address so you can be notified once you are selected.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

“Dad, I don’t think I’m a Spartan!”

Tears were flowing down my ten year old daughter’s face as she sat on her bed before school. That may sound like a strange phrase from a fifth grade girl, but it was obvious that the Holy Spirit was clearly at work in her heart.

My travels as a full time evangelist often take me to locations that my family is unable to attend. From time to time I will have the opportunity to preach closer to home. Yesterday my wife and children were able to join me at Mountain Springs Baptist Church in Cherokee, Alabama. In prayerfully considering what to share I felt the Lord direct me to a message entitled ‘A Beautiful Death’.

This sermon draws from the historical example of the valiant three hundred Spartan warriors that defended the narrow pass of Thermopylae (translated ‘Gates of Fire’) in 480 BC against a massive Persian invasion. Using their fearless intensity and courage as an example for how God wants His church to impact the world, we contrasted their militant zeal with that of their Arcadian counterparts who fought alongside them but were scared out of their minds.

If the Spartans were the Navy Seals of their day, the Arcadians were a junior varsity paintball team.

We closed with Mark 8:34-38, when Jesus told the crowds who were simply following Him for the feel good miracle sideshow:

And when He had called the people unto Him with his disciples also, He said unto them, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if He shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Erin explained to me that she had been afraid to share Christ with her friends at school. She knew that there was a risk that she could be mocked or made fun of, but could not shake the feeling. She expressed that she had not been the witness or example to her friends or peers that she could be.

I explained to her that was the Holy Spirit speaking to her, gently convicting and directing her to a deeper place in her young, fledgling faith. We talked about praying for divine opportunities to interject the gospel into conversations, and how simply asking if a person has a prayer need shows both real concern on her part and opens the door wide to talk about Jesus.

After praying with and then taking her to school, I prayed that God would give me the same tender, sensitive spirit that my daughter had. To be honest, most days I don’t think I am a Spartan either. I get so caught up in the business of life and ministry that I ignore the simplicity of the gospel. I turn a deaf ear to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to share Christ with those around me on a daily basis.

In the film adaptation of this battle from the movie 300, the Arcadian leader is bewildered that King Leonidas only has three hundred soldiers in tow to face the overwhelming forces of Persia:

Will we be like the Arcadians, drinking deep of the moment’s fear, focusing on the peril and danger that threatens to shake us out of our comfortable Christian existence?

Or will we be Spartans, swords clenched between our teeth, storming the very gates of hell to rescue the lost and dying that reach out from behind the gates of fire?

Erin and I have chosen our profession. What is yours?

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

Listen to the full message of 2:46pm at leeheights.org

Where were you at 2:46pm?

For many of us that feels like the awkward part of our day. We may be sitting in line at our children’s school, or returning from a late lunch as we count just a few more hours until work is over. We contemplate what to prepare for dinner or getting ready for an evening out.

For those who lived off the northern coast of Japan just days ago, the world’s seventh most powerful earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale struck at that exact time.

To give just a glimpse at how catastrophic this was, a 9.1 earthquake would measure twice as powerful as all of the explosives used during the Second World War – including the atomic bombs. This spawned a 23 feet high tsunami that swept homes and entire towns off the map. Numerous aftershocks of 6.0 or greater were registered.

At last count a conservative estimate put the death toll at close to 10,000 people.

2:46pm.

For these people everything changed in the blink of an eye. One moment is a typical afternoon, and the next the ground goes out from under you. Your entire life – washed away in one devastating moment.

Make sure that you do not reject the One who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected Him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven.  His voice shook the earth at that time, but now He has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.”  This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken-that is, created things-so that what is not shaken might remain.  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:25-29, HCSB

The moment an earthquake or other disaster strikes absolutely nothing else in the world matters. Those things we have accumulated that were so valuable shatter across the floor, yet we are grateful to remain alive and breathing.

For many of us, we have experienced moments in our life where calamity seems to have come from nowhere. We are called into the office and told our career is over. The doctor’s report comes back with unexpected news. A loved one is taken from us without the chance to say good bye.

God will often use even these grim situations to remind us that there is only one thing in the world that matters: our standing with Jesus Christ. In Matthew 24, Jesus compares the accumulating trials of the end times such as war, earthquake, and famine to childbirth. God does not delight in death and destruction, but when disaster hits as it did in Japan God reminds us that through these ‘birth pains’ new life can come to those who live apart from Him.

When the ground gives way beneath us and all is washed away, we must find refuge in the kingdom that can never be shaken.

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. John 10:28-29

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

Thankfully one snake we have not had to deal with is the boa constrictor. With great stealth it can slip into space undetected. While the prey remains unaware it can strike, then quietly coil its muscular body around the living victim.

Yet the boa does not squeeze its victim to death. As the helpless sufferer gasps for air, with each breath taken the snake just takes up space. Soon there is no room to breathe and death ensues.

I have often wondered if the serpent in Eden’s Garden was in fact the form of a boa. How could Eve not notice this was, in fact, a snake offering a counter of compromise to God’s command?

In Judges 1, we find the children of Israel at the peak of their military and spiritual strength. Having finally entered the land promised to their forefathers, one conquest followed another as they faithfully followed God’s direction.

In verse 21, we begin to see a pattern develop that would slowly lead to a tragic outcome. Instead of driving out the idolatrous nations as God told them, they instead allowed them to remain in the land and having them pay a tribute, or tax.

Israel had been a nation at war for a long time. Certainly they were tired of fighting. Instead, they would just allow the inhabitants to stay among them and even reap a financial windfall as a result.

However, notice the slight change in describing what takes place as a result of this arrangement:

Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Judges 1:29

Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants…But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. Judges 1:31-32

This palatable compromise went from the enemy living among them to the Israelites living among the enemy. The money they were gleaning from those they should have driven out went from being a luxury to a necessity.

The serpent had once again slipped in among God’s chosen people and quietly taken up space.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this account is what this spiritual act of suicide did to the generations that followed. Once a nation of covenant and conquest, as the warrior spirit gave way to compromise their children are the ones that suffered most:

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. Judges 2:10

 A study by the University of Virginia showed that “humans who detected the presence of snakes very quickly would have been more likely to pass on their genes.” What kind of spiritual legacy will we leave for those that follow us?

Where have we as followers of Christ allowed complacency, compromise, and cowardice to coil around our necks and suffocate our faith?

We grow weary and frustrated, shaking our fist at the sky while the sound of slithering scales shifts around our feet. We must regain that warrior desire to vanquish any area of our lives where our eternal enemy has taken up space. Answers to prayer, spiritual growth, and even the destiny of our children my be held back due to our compromise.

The men of our family have always held to one simple rule  – the only good snake is a dead snake.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

Imagine the burden of knowing you can never be good enough to please God. Every effort made, no matter how noble, falls miserably short. Resolutions to be a better person soon become bitter reminders; turned into evidence against us by the accuser of our souls.

The unfortunate path chosen by many is the road of false freedom. When the truth of our inability to earn God’s favor finally dawns upon us, our narrow view of faith gives way to overwhelming frustration. We reason that if God will never be satisfied with our straining and struggle, why bother?

Sadly, these feelings are shared by those who claim to have been saved from sin as well as others who have yet to profess faith in Christ. Perhaps the concept of what it means to be genuinely born again has been lost on us.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

The truth is that we are absolutely unable to become right in God’s sight by our own efforts. The preacher and the pedophile, the pious and the perverted both stand guilty before Him. God created us yet even on our best day our every thought and intention is toward evil.

 But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God’s very Son stepped outside the realm of heaven and came to earth for the purpose of doing for us what we were unable to do for ourselves. Sin must be dealt with or God ceases to be God. Because He is so desperate to spend eternity with us, all of the punishment we deserved was placed on Jesus as He died on the cross.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

We must throw off the shackles of trying to please God. We are unable to earn salvation. It is humanly impossible. Many of us cannot wrap our minds around a God who loves us in spite of our failures and shortcomings.

Jesus tells us in John 3:3 that we must be born again. Think about His resurrection for a moment: when Jesus lay dead in a tomb for three days, God through His Holy Spirit brought Him back to life. An outside Force intervened. Ephesians 2:4-6 tells us when we were dead in our sin, it was this same principle at work.

Jesus did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. By placing our faith in His finished work on our behalf, we are seen as righteous, holy, and blameless in the sight of God. Jesus Christ is not a crutch to lean on; that implies even the smallest effort on your part. He is a stretcher, carrying us where we could not go under our own power.

That is real freedom.

You may have never known this freedom. Either you have been trapped in the cycle of self righteous efforts that lead to nowhere or you have never known what it means to receive Christ. If you have questions or need prayer, please email me at revolutionsvoice@gmail.com.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.

There is a word in the english language that disturbs me more than any other. Whenever it is uttered my senses cringe.

Many find it offensive and even inconceivable.

That word is forgiveness.

My entire life I have struggled with the issue of genuinely forgiving other people. I know what the Bible says. I can even verbalize the words out loud. But alongside the part of me that knows I am supposed to let go of offense there is this other guy that wants to kick the door in, laughing maniacally with both guns blazing until the guilty parties are annihilated.

It is one thing to say you forgive someone else. It is another thing entirely to actually do it.

Not long ago I was graciously given the opportunity to put this into practice.  I was at home and received an email that sent hot, piercing flames up the back of my neck making that little vein pop out of my forehead.

Did I mention that it upset me?

I turned off the computer, sat in my chair and silently fumed. I could feel the bitterness in the back of my throat. Rehearsing in my head were all the sharp jabs that would be thrown the next time we met.

Then God, as usual, intervened in my Machiavellian fantasies and got my attention.

He reminded me of a powerful message from a local pastor on how unforgiveness affects the believer.

In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus gives His disciples what everyone familiar with anything religious calls ‘the Lord’s Prayer’. We always tend to read over verse 12 in order to get the ‘good’ part, but there it is in all of it’s red lettered splendor:

“…and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”

I am asking God to forgive me as I forgive other people? I don’t do that so well. I want grace and mercy for myself and justice and revenge on those who have wronged me.

The pastor had given an illustration that when God forgives someone their sin against you, according to Psalm 103:12 He removes it as far as the east is from the west and literally remembers it no more. He then compared it to a crime scene investigation. Since God has forgiven them, it was  as if He wiped their prints off the evidence. If you are still in that place angrily demanding justice and vindication, the only one left at the scene of the crime is you. Your fingerprints are the only ones still remaining from holding on so tightly and refusing to let go.

Maybe that is why Jesus often used the analogy of an unforgiving debtor being thrown into prison. In passages such as Matthew 5:23-26, He warns us that harboring resentment and refusal to forgive is akin to being placed in a spiritual bondage that can only result in our hearts and minds being locked away from all the incredible things God wants for us.

God reminded me that when I forgive, it can’t be lip service. It has to be the real deal. When the message ended, I prayed and sincerely forgave that individual who had sent the email. Once expressed with sincerity something incredible happened.

That bitter taste left the back of my throat. The vein went back to normal.

And I was forgiven.

If your church, organization, or event would be interested in having me speak send an email to revolutionsvoice@gmail.com or check out the schedule page for details.