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People do all kinds of scandalous, self-sabotaging things when they lose their vision.

The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people get out of control.” (Proverbs 29.18 CEB)

Solomon started out his rule as king of Israel with strength, focus and unwavering vision. The Bible tells us, “The kingdom was now firmly in Solomon’s grasp” (1 Kings 2:46).

Solomon built the temple that his father was unable to build.

This incredible structure took 7 years to complete (1 Kings 6:38).

He also built a palace for himself, which took 13 years to complete the construction (1 Kings 7:1).

I can’t even begin to imagine what this house looked like!

During these years, Jerusalem’s infrastructure, economy and influence flourished.

Then something strange happened… Solomon seemed to run out of vision.

There are no more stories about battles to fight or buildings to build.

Instead, Solomon started chasing after his own appetites and desires.

He no longer lived to fulfill God-given vision, but rather to fulfill his own lusts.

The Bible says Solomon “had 700 wives and 300 concubines” (1 Kings 11:3).

What? This is crazy!

Solomon is now so busy with women (I can’t even figure out the math) that he has no time or energy left to do anything purposeful.

Solomon’s reign lasted 40 years.

The first 20 years was full of vision, purpose, building, developing, creating…

The last 20 years was full of, well… distraction, self-centeredness, lust, and overindulgence.

Warning—don’t run out of vision!

I don’t ever want to get to the place where all my dreams and visions have been fulfilled.

I don’t want to lose sight of purpose.

I want to always have one more dream to fulfill, another building to build and another mission to accomplish.

I’m praying that God will constantly fill me with visions, dreams, and goals.

We use vehicles to get us where we want to go.

Sometimes, we use vehicles to help us feel closer to God.

For some, it’s recreating an experience they had in the past at a camp or revival meeting… hopping in the time machine makes them feel closer to God.

For others, it’s singing a particular song, reading a favorite verse, wearing church clothes, or using the correct Bible translation… they’re riding in a specific vehicle attempting to close the distance between them and God.

I understand why we use time machines and other vehicles.

I’ve done it myself.

They’re not bad—they’re just not necessary.

Time machines and other vehicles aren’t holy.

They don’t bring us to God.

And they don’t bring God to us.

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1.5 NLT)

Did you catch that? God brought us to himself through Jesus Christ!

Distance? There’s none.

Getting close to God doesn’t require a vehicle or a time machine.

God closed the distance for us.

He’s with us and we’re with him.

God is with us when we’re humming along to that Taylor Swift song and he’s with us when we’re singing our favorite worship song.

God is there when we’re in our church clothes and he’s just as near when we’re in our swimsuits at the beach.

God worked in our hearts at the camp meeting back in 1985 and he’s going to minister to us at the next camp meeting (and before it, after it… he’ll even minister to those who can’t go to it).

Listening to girls talk about what they’re looking for in a man is fascinating stuff…

I’ve heard girls say things like, “I’m only going to date a guy who has a really nice car.”

When I hear that, I always wonder: will she miss the right guy (faithful, honest, hard-working, loving, interesting, funny, etc.) because she was overly distracted with the vehicle?

I wonder the same thing in the church too…

Will we fail to notice God because we’re so obsessed with the vehicles?

God has already closed the distance for us.

He brought us to himself through Jesus Christ—and his Spirit lives in us.

Let’s notice Him… time machine or no time machine, vehicle or no vehicle.

Taking our relationship with God to a whole notha level means being aware of him more—even without the use of time machines and other vehicles.

I had a party at my house recently.

Two of our friends decided to hide in the guest bathroom’s shower—planning to surprise anyone who tried to use the bathroom.

They were in there for 20 minutes or so.

They successfully freaked out at least one person.

Now, every time I use that bathroom, I have to check the shower first—to make sure nobody is there.

I know it will be empty, but I still have to look so I won’t be thinking about it while I’m “busy” in there.

There is someone in your shower though.

God is there.

He’s everywhere.

I know it’s kind of weird to think about God being in your shower… but He is.

In fact, there’s nowhere you can go that He won’t be.

We think of God being in our church services or in our times of personal Bible study and devotions.

He just doesn’t stay confined to those “boxes”.

He’s also in your shower and in your car and in your cubicle at work.

He’s with you at the gym and He goes to the movies with you.

He’s everywhere.

I think part of our growth—in terms of our relationship with God—is being aware of His presence outside the “church box” and “Bible study box’.

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—but even in the darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as the day.” (Psalm 139.7, 9-12 NLT)

So… next time you’re in the shower, remember: Someone’s there with you.

NOTE: Special thanks to Erica Jones and Kaitlin Cole for providing the inspiration for this post.

We tend to approach our relationship with God either through knowing or experiencing.

Personality influences our tendencies—but we need to both know and experience God in order to grow in our relationship with Him.

Yup, that’s right: we need both.

We need to know Him and experience Him.

Knowledge is necessary—we need to learn about Him, we need to know Him, and we need to understand what the Bible says about Him.

Experience is necessary too—we need to sense, hear, feel, and respond to Him.

If we only approach God through knowledge, our relationship with Him will become academic, stinted, anemic, and weak.

I’ve been in church services before where the approach was only knowledge…

The thing is, God wasn’t needed there—they were doing just fine without Him.

If we only approach God through experience, our relationship with Him will become subjective and driven by our own whims.

I’ve also been in church services where the approach was only experiential…

They were weird, off-base, and dangerous (like a moving train that has left its tracks).

Growth in our relationship with God will require knowing Him and experiencing Him.

“May you have the power to understand (know)… his love. May you experience the love of Christ…” (Ephesians 3.18, 19 NLT)

Time to take your relationship with God to a whole notha level?

Know | Experience | Grow

My daughter and I like to play the “Would You Rather…?” game.

It’s kinda silly, and it’s kinda fun.

It’s about sharing—how you make decisions, what makes you tick… what makes you you.

It’s also about listening and learning—what they like, how they think… what makes them them.

My daughter and I already know each other pretty well, but we still enjoy the game.

And we’re still learning things.

In the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays for us—that we would grow in our knowledge of God.

“I keep asking that God… give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” (Ephesians 1.17 NIV)

Maybe you feel like you know God pretty well.

That’s cool.

But there’s more to learn and there’s room to grow.

I really like the phrase, “so that you may know him better,” in this verse.

Here’s something worth considering:

What am I doing, what am I making time for, what’s happening in my life right now… so that I might know Him better?

It could be time for a good game of “Would You Rather…?” with God.

We all know the Goldilocks story: a little girl, walking in the forest… comes to a deserted house.

Inside the house, she sits in a chair that’s too small and one that’s too large before finding one that is “just right.”

She tastes porridge that is too hot and some that is too cold before devouring a bowl that’s “just right.”

She tries a too-soft bed and a too-hard bed before finding one that’s “just right.”

Astronomers use the term “Goldilocks Zone” to describe planets that are positioned “just right” from a star—planets like earth that can maintain liquid water (too close to a star, everything burns—too far from a star, everything freezes).

Investors use the term “Goldilocks Portfolio” to describe a family of funds that aren’t too hot or too cold… they’re “just right.”

Goldilocks may be a positive concept in astronomy, investing, and fairytales—but it’s a problem in the church.

In the church, I call it “The Goldilocks Syndrome.”

Not too hot, not too cold… “just right.”

Or, as God describes it: “lukewarm.”

“You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.” (Revelation 3.15-17 MSG)

“Just right” ain’t right in the church.

Safe and comfortable isn’t where life flourishes in God’s kingdom.

I know this is counterintuitive—we’re ingrained with the notion that “safe is good.”

God used such a strong visual image to describe how he feels about the Goldilocks Syndrome: it makes him want to vomit.

Recently, a friend asked me what I believe needs to change in our church.

Immediately, I thought about the Goldilocks Syndrome.

With tears welling up in my eyes, I answered his question:

“One thing I feel strongly about: our church needs to push and go beyond where we’ve been. We need to take the limits off, clear the haze of apathy… really give a damn and do things big, loud, and risky.”

That’s what I’m praying for.

No more Goldilocks Syndrome.

No more “just right” safe and comfortable, hazy, lazy, lukewarm Christianity.

It’s time to take the limits off—and go to another level.

As a kid in the late ’70’s, I remember listening to the hauntingly sad, autobiographical lyrics of Roger Waters (Pink Floyd): “I have become comfortably numb”.

Another line from the song explains, “You are only coming through in waves—your lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying”.

This song reminds me of something Jesus said…

“Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.” (Matthew 13.13 MSG)

Some of us are numb—just going through the motions in life.

We hear sounds, but we’re not really listening. Our eyes are open, but we’re not really seeing.

In 2003, Amy Lee of Evanescence wrote a song called “Bring Me To Life.”

The chorus says, “Wake me up inside…”

Amy Lee, when asked about the inspiration for the song, explained: “One day someone said something that made my heart race for a second and I realized that for months I’d been numb, just going through the motions of life.”

She realized that she was numb and needed to be awakened.

So…

If your life was a film, which of these two songs should be the soundtrack right now?

Are you comfortably numb—or are you saying “wake me up inside”?

“Make sure you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-to-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. Be up and awake to what God is doing!” (Romans 13.11, 12 MSG)

I have a scooter, an off-brand Vespa.

Somebody told me that my scooter has a governor—an attachment to the throttle which limits speed.

This drives me crazy.

I know it has the potential to go faster, but somewhere hiding in the engine is a little thing that keeps it slow.

And I don’t know how to find it, change it, or remove it.

Grrrrrrr…

That stinkin little limiter!

Sometimes I think we (God’s people / the Church) have a governor.

We have potential for greater things, but somewhere hiding in our hearts is a little thing that keeps us small.

And we don’t know where to find it, change it, or remove it.

That stinkin little limiter!

There is a solution for my scooter: I can go to a mechanic.

He knows what I don’t. He can fix it—he can lift the limits.

So, what about us / what about the church?

2 Corinthians 3.14 informs us: Only through Christ are the limits lifted.

With the limits removed, “We are being transformed… from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Cor. 3.18)

In other words, when the limits have been lifted, we go to a whole notha level.

I’m asking God to do that…

Fix us.

Take the limiters off.

And take us to a whole notha level.

In the early ’80’s, Disco was dying and New Wave was on the rise.

Ivan Doroschuk of the band Men Without Hats wrote The Safety Dance as a protest against bouncers who were stopping dancers from pogoing (bouncing up and down) in clubs.

In essence, Ivan was saying: it’s safe to dance.

He was reframing the establishment’s view of what was safe—to include pogoing on the dance floor.

I believe we need to reframe our view of “safe” as well.

We all tend to gravitate toward the safe and comfortable.

Some attribute this tendency to the “lizard brain” (the amygdala).

The “lizard brain” runs from risk—it reacts out of fear.

On our own, it kinda makes sense to think like a lizard… but we’re not on our own.

God is with us. His Spirit lives in us.

“With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3.20)

Since we’re not on our own, we must reframe our view of safe.

When we’re evaluating what’s safe, we need to make sure God is in the equation.

God’s power is working in us and he is able to do much more than we could ever ask or imagine.

No more “lizard brain” running…

It’s safe to dance.

Yesterday was a travel day: planes, trains and automobiles… and I think this was the first time I’ve drained my Kindle’s battery.

Some books I read over the past 3 weeks:

Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay

The Myth of a Christian Religion by Gregory Boyd

Quitter by Jon Acuff

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders

Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky

Because He Loves Me by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now by Gregory Boyd