Have you ever thought something was out of reach for you? Dunking a basketball on a ten foot is out of reach for me. Being a handy man around my house is generally out of my reach.

Nonetheless, there are times we reach an accomplishment that we once thought was out of reach. For example, when I first learned to be a pitcher in the game of baseball, I thought throwing a no-hitter was out of reach. But when I was 14 years old, I threw my first no-hitter against the George County All-Stars in Petal, Mississippi. It was awesome to reach a goal I once thought unreachable!

In a similar way, we may often think what God expects of us is unreachable. Deuteronomy 30:11 declares that God's ways and commands for us are not out of reach. It is only a matter of us choosing life with the Lord and being obedient in His way. There is no doubt that God's ways and commands will be a stretch for us, but God reminds us that what He desires for us is not out of reach.

Eight years ago, God stirred my mind and heart to plant a church. At first, I thought God was crazy because being a pastor much less starting a church was way beyond my reach. Nonetheless, I went the path that God marked for me and here I am today as the pastor of a church plant that is in its seventh year of existence. And to be honest, I have had the time of my life being stretched by God as I continue this very day to learn what it means to be a pastor

What will you reach for today that God has given you to do? Let's play catch! It's your turn to throw!

There was a time when my life was empty and aimless. Then God orchestrated my life in such a way that I crossed paths with Peggy Young and Jeff Powell. I was in my late teens, Peggy was my Sunday School teacher, and Jeff was the student pastor where I began to attend church.

God used Peggy and Jeff to influence me to commit my life to Christ and I have had no regrets ever since. I have often reflected back on those days and tried to pinpoint in practical ways how God used them to usher salvation to my life.

My discovery led me to understand that both Peggy and Jeff never gave me advice that was not based in scripture. They were scripture machines! And they made scripture come alive for me. Plus, they lived their lives according to scripture as well. No obvious hypocrisy in their lives.

Another discovery was that Peggy was a picture of grace. She and her husband invited me to their home very often for fried chicken and football games. While eating and watching football games, they always gave me the utmost value. It seemed like every time they saw me, they were glad to see me.

One final discovery was that both Peggy and Jeff asked me great questions and they were not afraid to let me ask questions of them. They took the time to answer my cynical questions and they took the time to ask me probing questions that made me think like never before. I soon came to grips with the truth that I was not the Christ!

As I often reflect on my present ministry, I often see myself doing to others what Peggy and Jeff did in my life, except the heavy dose of grace part. :)It gives me great joy each year to know that God takes me on a journey with a handful of people each year and God gives me the unbelievable privilege of ushering people to salvation in Christ. There is nothing comparable to being used of God to make an impact for eternity.

Take a few moments and reflect on your salvation journey. What were some key moments in that journey? What are some ways that you try to pass on your faith in Christ to others?

Let's play catch! It is your turn to throw!

Object lessons are one of the best educational tools known to man. And Jesus used object lessons throughout the four gospels. For example, Jesus taught eternal truths using salt, a wineskin, bread, a vine, a mustard seed, and a needle to name a few. Think about some of your favorite object lessons that have remained in your mind for years.

One of my favorite object lessons is a button. I have been told for years that if you get the top button on your shirt done correctly then all the other buttons will line up correctly, but if you get the top button out of line, all the other buttons will be out of line. And that is true for life as well. If you seek God first, then all the other things of life line up correctly in their appropriate timing and place.

A few days ago, I went outside for a few moments and observed how many object lessons I could recognize within a short distance from where I was standing. I saw a garden and then immediately thought about the parable of the sower and the different kinds of soil. I felt a strong breeze and thought about the Nicodemus story and how Jesus taught him that the Holy Spirit blows like the wind in that you cannot control it or manipulate when it comes or where it goes.

As the wind blew with strength, I heard the leaves on the tress make sounds as if they were clapping. I immediately thought of the scripture that remins us that the trees will praise God if we do not. I saw birds soaring with the wind beneath their wings and of course I thought about Isaiah 40:31. I saw adults and children playing with their respective pets and I thought about the Book of Genesis and was reminded that God has given man dominion over the animals, birds, and fish.

Take a few minutes and look around and locate what objects remind you of a life lesson or eternal truth. Let's play catch! It is your turn to throw!

It has been said, "Mercenaries will defeat draftees, but volunteers will crush them both." Mercenaries are people who driven by money to accomplsih tasks. Draftees are people who are forced to accomplish tasks. Volunteers are people who are driven by heart and passion and faith to accomplish tasks.

From my perspective, I validate the above statement to be true. Forcing me to do a task will not produce a good product or outcome. Financial compensation is not a sustaining motivation for me to accomplish a task at a high level. But if I volunteer for a task, I will have sustaining motivation for the task and most likely produce a product or outcome at a high level.

When I first became a follower of Christ my mentor often asked me, "What would you do with your time even if you were not getting paid for it?" That question assisted me in discovering what God wanted me to do with my life, instead of letting salary levels determine what I did with my life. And I have no regrets in what God has called me to do with my life, and sometimes I think it is comical that I get compensated for things that I would do with my life any way.

I always wanted to be a baseball coach and win titles, but God did not allow that to happen. God called me to be a pastor and as a friend reminded me years ago, a pastor is like being a life coach. Instead of building people through the game of baseball, God has called me to build people through scripture and the church. And to this day I would strive to build people each day through scripture whether I got compensated or not.

I have come to recognize that there is great power and inspiration in volunteers! That is why the church should have great power; Christ is our Head and each follower of Christ is gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do good works as a volunteer. Each follower of Christ has a place and opportunity to scratch the itch of his or her God-ordained passion.

What would you do with your time even if you did not receive compensation for it? Why do you think God puts so much trust in volunteers?

Let's play catch! It's your turn to throw!

It has been said before that if a person wants to have a satisfying life, the person needs three things: something to believe, someone to love, and some task to do. I guess you could call it the BLT for life. Personally, I generally agree with that formula for a satisfying life.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and I believe in Jesus Christ, God's Son, and my Savior and Lord, and I believe in the Holy Spirit who regenerates and empowers my life. I believe in the church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and life everlasting. What I believe makes my life very satisfying. Of lesser importance, I believe the annual opening day of the Major League Baseball season should be a national holiday and everyone is excused from work and required to watch a baseball game and spit sunflower seeds.

I love my wife Dawn and I love that she is different from me because God uses her to make my life more whole. If I were stranded on a deserted island and had to choose one person to be there with me, it would be Dawn without any hesitation. And left to my choosing, we would not try to get off the island either. Loving Dawn and being loved by her makes my satisfying.

My task in life is to build people. It is refreshing to have an opportunity to make people better even in small ways. I believe the best minute is the minute I invest in the life of another person. The task of building people makes my life satisfying.

If you do not agree with the above BLT for life, you can always have the traditional BLT, a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. I suppose that would make life satisfying as well.

Let's play catch! It is your turn to throw!

In early August, I went to a leadership conference with a handful of people from Gateway and God used one of the speakers to grab my attention. And not just a tap on the shoulder kind of attention, but a resounding gong kind of attention!

The speaker was talking about her involvement in a ministry that rescues young women from the despicable slave trade or human trafficking. The speaker told us about a conversation with a young woman that had been rescued. The speaker told the young woman that God loves her and the rescued woman asked the speaker, “If God loves me, why did you not come to rescue me sooner?”

That question rocked my mind and heart as I sat listening to the speaker at the conference. The word “sooner” was imprinted in my mind and I kept hearing the speaker say the word “sooner” all day long. And still to this day, I can hear the speaker saying “sooner.”

God impressed upon me that day that I am not always waiting on the Lord for an answer or a prompting but many times God has already given an answer or prompting and I have not acted. Therefore, many people are wondering where is God’s love because I have not acted “sooner” on God’s prompting and provision. As I think about poverty, oppression, injustice, lostness and the like, I wonder if all that dark ugliness would be extinct or at least very limited if only I and others acted “sooner” on the promptings and provisions of God. I believe many times we are guilty of blaming God for His failure to act when in actuality we have failed to act.

Since the conference, my commitment is to act “sooner” on God’s promptings and provisions and to lead others to do the same. I believe if we act “sooner” in the name of Christ, God will reveal more heaven on earth to us and that will cause us to grin more!

Let’s play catch! Your turn to throw!

Earlier in the summer, most of my tomatoes had blossom rot or some blemish on them, and I was getting discouraged. Nonetheless, in recent days the same plants have done a 180 and produced some flawless, perfect tomatoes, at least in my opinion. And that has created a grin on the face of this rookie gardener! And get this, I do not even like to eat tomatoes.

Years ago, some of my ministry colleagues called me the “redneck mystic” because I spend time reflecting on all my life experiences. And in line with that habit, I have spent some time reflecting on those flawless, perfect tomatoes.

My thoughts went to Noah in the Old Testament. Genesis 6:9 declares, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Later, Genesis 6:22 pronounces, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”

Then my thoughts went to Galatians 5:7 and it proclaims, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” That passage reminded me that like some of my earlier tomatoes, I have some blemishes in my life.

And true to form, my reflection kept expanding and I pulled out some statements that have been true in both history and my life. One statement is “God does not call us to minimums” and another statement is “Direction, not intentions, determines my destination.”

And of course, my reflection took me to the game of baseball. I remember that every time my coach gave me the game ball and sent me to get warm in the bullpen, I wanted to pitch a perfect game that day. I never threw a perfect game but I did through a couple of no-hitters and a handful of shutouts. Nevertheless, each game I sought the perfect game.

My reflection on flawless, perfect tomatoes ended with a renewed desire to pursue a life that is blameless among the people of my time, and a renewed desire to lead a church who will do everything just as God has commanded us. I keep telling myself, “Keep the bar raised high!” And one day, I hope to see a grin on God’s face and hear him say to me, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Let’s play catch! It’s your turn to throw!