The Marathon Mentality

My mom is a 50 something maniac who runs marathons in a 30 something’s body. She’s phenomenal, having run races like the Boston Marathon multiple times, consistently finishing close to the top of her age group. But as proud as I am of her, you’ve got to understand I am competitive to a fault. So after she would often play the card of “but you’ve never run a marathon” time and time again when I was a teenager like she had done something I couldn't, I eventually ran the Marine Corps Marathon at the age of 21 as well as a bunch of half marathons along the way (and of course, I made sure I beat my mom as handily as possible in each one, just to have that card in my own hand in case I need it later!).

It’s three years later, and my mom is still going strong. Me? Not so much. Matter of fact I’ve gained about 20 pounds since the age of 21 when I was a long distance running machine. It’s good weight since it’s all from going to the gym, but not exactly beneficial to tests of endurance. And recently my competitive juices got the best of me again, as I’m running a ten miler with my mom tomorrow. Ten miles is by no means astronomical, and I probably wouldn’t have trained if I was running it alone. But I’ve got to make sure I at the very least keep up with my mom, and losing definitely isn’t an option!

So I’ve trained (sort of). I live next to a park where long paths are easy to find, but the treadmill just so happens to be in the gym next door to the bench I refuse to stop using (not to mention the one time I oh so gracefully rolled my ankle on a tree root along that trail keeps mocking me from the back of my mind whenever I’m in the decision making process of where to run). The treadmill is monotonous, boring, and tedious compared to the joys of running through the woods and seeing progress as you run, but I still use it a majority of the time. Honestly, running is running, and as boring as it may be it gets the job done.

Hebrews 12 uses the analogy of a race when discussing our pursuit of Christ, so naturally it’s a verse runners like myself gravitate to. But a lot of times, my spiritual walk can feel like it’s stuck on a treadmill, not out blazing trails or taking part in a marathon with thousands of my peers. I’m actively pursuing God, but don’t exactly feel like I’m breaking through into new territory or the promises he has for me. But thankfully, the author of Hebrews encourages us to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” And literally just pages later James tells us that “perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” So whether I feel I am stuck running in place spiritually or moving quickly along the path into the promises God has for me, I can remain confident that as long as I patiently keep my eyes fixed on Jesus I’m still honing myself for the marathon He’s created me for. As Peter 3:9 says, the Lord isn’t slow in keeping his promises, and that’s something I hold fast to in those times I feel pretty sluggish myself.

With that I will hit the pillow. I’m going to need all the rest I can get just to keep up with Mama Dukes!

The Daily Struggle (Eph 6:12)

If a battle goes down in the spiritual realm and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
More specifically, why should we even care?


Personally, I’ve never seen anything close to our military in combat. As I type this American forces are in Iraq, but my own eyes have seen none of it. And time to time as humans the skeptic in us says that if we’ve never experienced it for ourselves how are we sure it’s going on? It’s like the people who say we never landed on the moon because they’ve never seen anything but TV clips. Or the people who think 9/11 never happened because, well, they’re dense and everything is a conspiracy. And it would be plain stupid for me to think that there’s no war going on in Iraq simply because I’ve never witnessed any of it, but that’s not my point.

My point is that Paul says in Ephesians 6:12, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and powers and authorities of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That’s a lot to wrap our heads around, and it’s easy to forget about or write off since we can’t see it. How are we supposed to actually believe that not only are there battles going on in another realm that we can’t see, but we’re actually a part of it? It sounds like something out of the Chronicles of Narnia, Peter Pan, or a similar children’s story. But if we truly believe that the Bible is more than a cute story and it’s the very Word of God, we should believe wholeheartedly that what Paul claims is reality. He says that we don’t wage war as the world does, but we still are in a battle with the Devil over our lives and the lives of those around us.

But if we’re actually in a spiritual battle day in and day out that’s both in this world and in some heavenly realm, what on earth are we supposed to do? Well if you want to read up on battles in the Bible all you have to do is turn to Joshua. The entire first half of the book is just battle after battle after battle as the Israelites, led by Joshua, take the Promised Land. And the entire 2nd half is similar to when Mufasa and Simba chill on Pride Rock just to look at all the land they had. The Israelites, with God fighting for them, were prolific in their campaign to take the Promised Land.

Joshua was the commander who led the Israelites. He was their George Washington. He was their Patton. That’s a big deal. But he took over after Moses passed away, and the Bible says that Moses was the humblest and probably the most righteous man on earth. God had chosen Moses out of everybody in the world to be the man who delivered his people out of captivity and to the Promised Land. And I can imagine that at times Joshua felt as inadequate and uneasy about leading the Israelites into battle as we do about the whole idea of partaking in some spiritual battles ourselves.

But if we feel overwhelmed with this idea of every day being a battle, we can rest in Joshua’s simple secret to victory. It’s the same act that will help you overcome any obstacle in your life. It’s the act of OBEDIENCE. Joshua 11:15 says, “As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all the LORD commanded Moses.” Obedience is a recurring theme in Joshua, because again and again it says that Joshua obeyed what the LORD commanded. And eventually it says that each and every promise the LORD had given the Israelites was fulfilled.

We should be thankful that obedience is the key, because obedience is one part of our lives that we can control. We can’t always control our circumstances, and we certainly can’t control how we are treated by others. And often we can’t even control our understanding of what’s going on, because the battles are going on unseen by us as we pray and act here on earth. But we can always control our choice to obey God.

It doesn’t even matter how incompetent we feel when faced with a situation, temptation, or battle that will inevitably happen. In Joshua 23:3 Joshua reminds everybody that it was the LORD who fought for them, and in the same way God has done all the fighting for us. Jesus has already handed us the victory, as Romans 8:37 says we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. When we give our lives to Christ we are no longer slaves to sin. That’s why in Romans 6:12 Paul says don’t let sin reign in your mortal body. Temptation may always be there as an outlaw, but we can’t let it be king. Sin should no longer rule us.

It’s like how the Israelites took the Promised Land. They had escaped bondage in Egypt, and now that they were in and ruling the Promised Land they no longer had to fear. But they couldn’t be complacent either, because it didn’t mean nobody would ever attack. There were still people who raided the Promised Land, and when the Israelites forsook God and forgot what he’d done for them they lost it. In a similar way sin no longer rules our body and mind, but that doesn’t mean it won’t stick around to partake in guerilla warfare. Often in real life a defeated or beaten enemy doesn’t give up, but retreats to partake in guerilla warfare and attack from time to time. That’s why we need to be diligent in our obedience and our faith. When the Israelites forgot that living in the Promised Land and serving God would be a battle, they ended up losing parts of it. And we too can’t forget that after we’ve given our life to Christ that there will still be a battle to fight. We aren’t born again into a maternity ward, we’re born again into a battlefield.

The Devil has been playing the same games for centuries, and his biggest game is to make us forget that there’s a battle going on at all. He wants us thinking that everything is peachy keen so we can just be cool and keep living as usual. He wants us to turn off the good news and replace it with some amusing fluff like Lifetime or Oprah. Anything that won’t remind us of the battle that is raging for our soul and the souls around us. Because it’s a beautiful lie to believe that there’s no conflict spiritually, but all of us know that’s false.

And the same way a soldier is diligent to obey his commander, we’ve got to be diligent to be in the Word obeying God’s commands. We’ve got to fan the flame. We can’t just let our mind and heart go on empty and passive, we have to fill ourselves with God’s Word and diligently seek God and follow his commandments. If the Israelites weren’t diligent in their obedience, or if they forgot they were at battle, they would fall. And eventually, they did. Eventually a couple books later they get Kings who the Bible says “did what was best in their own eyes,” totally rejecting obedience to God, and the entire kingdom gets split and goes into exile.

With the eternal consequences of the battle we’re in it’s easy to get flustered or feel overwhelmed and blow it off. But what we fail to realize when we get anxious is that we already have victory. God’s already won. All we have to do is be obedient in the Promised Land he’s given us. Romans 8:28 says that God works all situations and every battle for the good of those that love him. And I think a lot of the time people think that means everything will work out perfectly, and they lose sight of that last phrase, “those that love him.” Well how do you know if you’re included as one who loves God? The Bible spells it out clear as day in 1 John 5:3. It says “This is love for God: to obey his commands.” It’s clear to us, to others, and to God that when we obey God we show our love for him. And it’s then that Romans 8:28 applies and every battle will be won just as Joshua took the Promised Land through his obedience.

But guess what, just like everything else God calls us to, it’s bigger than ourselves. Because there are people who don’t realize that there is a battle going on. It’s not just about us. I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but the reality of things is there are people losing battles and turning to substances, sex, and even suicide instead of God’s love. It’s part of our calling to let the people around us know not only that there is a battle going on for their souls, but there is also a God that loves them and wants to give them victory.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is forcefully advancing, and that forceful men lay hold of it. There’s no room for passive minds and passive hearts. Those that will lay hold of it will have a strong desire to have it, and desire to see everyone else following with the same passion. God wants none to perish, he’s a general with a no man left behind policy. That’s why his greatest commandment is not only to love him but to love others, and that’s why his great commission is to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

To obey the great commission sounds intimidating, “making disciples of all nations”. But it starts in the circle of influence we already have. We’re called to our schools and our neighborhoods, and trust me there are enough Christians in the world where if everyone just took care of their turf we’d be well on our way to “all nations”. If everyone took care of their own bubble the whole world wouldn’t be far off. It’s really not that mindblowing.

You will live victoriously in your Promised Land when you learn to live a life of obedience. And a life of obedience might as well start with the greatest commandments, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The first takes care of us, and the 2nd takes care of advancing God’s kingdom. It’s simple. Start obeying God’s commands by not only loving him with all your heart, but beginning to share that love with the people around you.

Stay diligent. Never forget that we as Christians are in a battle, for our souls and the souls of those around us. Be like Joshua, who obeyed everything he was commanded to do, and saw every one of God’s promises for the Israelites fulfilled. Because each and every one of us has a calling that goes beyond what we could imagine, and we too will see it fulfilled as we walk in obedience.

Flashing Lights

Meet Yodit Kifle, standing next in line as the next world changing graduate W&M is pumping out these days. That university is nothing short of an academic boot camp, and Yodit’s already started getting her global imprint out there by getting involved with Paper to Pearls, which I can hype because I haven’t yet started my prolific beaded jewelry line. But in all seriousness it’s a great project going to an even greater cause, so you should check it out:

http://www.papertopearls.org/

I went to W&M to meet Yodit, and at 24 and going on 3 years out of college, I can’t believe how young college students look these days! Either there are more prodigies now than ever, W&M has added a middle school, or I’m just plain old. I'm constantly conscious of the seeming gap in age and wonder if it works both ways. Do I look 30+ to these guys?

But luckily, after scooping up Yodit, we were able to get into Colonial Williamsburg where I could concentrate on knocking out the LONG overdue pictures for the website.

Joyful Noise- Flame ft. Lecrae

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MllhC0qyEjY

I’m a HUGE hip hop fan, and don’t listen to more than a handful of secular acts anymore, but it’s safe to say this is the first time a hip hop music video has managed to get me excited in a LONG time.

Christian hip hop artists are still sitting 6 feet underground in the music scene. It’s a shame, because there are kids in youth groups all over the place trying to follow Jesus but still pumping death in their system with the likes of Lil’ Wayne and Young Jeezy. And they are oblivious to the fact that music like this even exists. So if you've never heard of them, Lecrae and Flame are both as solid as they come, and if you like this (which isn't even their strongest stuff by far) you should definitely check them out on Myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/lecrae

http://www.myspace.com/flame314

Laying the foundation for a movement like a riverbed...

I recently got back from a youth camp put on by Generation Now (of House of Prayer; if you live in the Richmond area, go check them out! [http://www.hop.org/]) in the hills of Lancaster, PA. It felt like a mountaintop encounter with God in the mold of Moses' or Elijah's, and I can only hope that each of the youth went home saying the same thing Moses did when it came time for the Israelites to leave Mt. Sinai: “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” Because while visiting God at camp is great, habitation beats visitation every day of the week.

Often people get so obsessed with the Promised Land and what they anticipate God’s doing for them that they neglect the very presence of God and become satisfied with "visits." I know at times I've been guilty of it when working to launch Risen. And I know some who even say they’ve ‘tried God’ in the past and it did nothing for them. But God lays out a promise in Jeremiah 29:13 that he’s always faithful to keep: You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart. If you really seek God with all your heart, making his presence a priority and his commands your cornerstone, He guarantees it’ll change your life.


But a definite second to the actual camp experience was the fact that I got to officially launch Risen Threads at camp with churches all around Virginia attending. If you were there and got a shirt, ideally one day you’ll be able to tell your grandkids you were one of Risen’s first customers!

I had a couple people ask me how somebody would fully understand the deeper meaning of some of the shirts if they aren’t a believer. And that’s just it. They won’t. There are a lot of shirts out there that slap a Bible verse, an altered logo with an altered slogan, or a line of text onto the front and call it a day. It’s almost like those who made them think that a one-liner on a T-shirt they are wearing will be the last straw in terms of convincing somebody to seek Christ and be saved. And in some cases it might be the seed that’s needed for God to move in somebody’s life, I won’t put limits on a limitless God.

But I think sometimes we as believers treat evangelism the same way. It’s about the points we have to make and the one liners we want to deliver, and we forget to do things like ask questions, listen to the answers, relate to the person we're talking to, and actually show a genuine interest in them! I don’t want my shirts to be the say all and end all. I want them to be the kind of piece that’s interesting enough artistically and conceptually to get people to look and ask questions. I’ve already had numerous conversations with coworkers and acquaintances about designs, concepts, and most importantly how my walk with Christ inspired them. I hope my shirts can be a useful tool that helps people bridge the gap from the nerves that sometimes come with evangelism to the opportunity for them to share the gospel and their own testimony in a genuine conversation (and look good doing it!).

In the end, regardless of how we go about it I know there will be a revival in this world. And if I have anything to do with it, it will be in this generation. But it won’t be because of what I do or anyone else does specifically, it will be because it’s God’s heart that all men would be saved and none should perish. As God's servants and fellow laborers, it’s our job to see God’s dream come to life by sharing the gospel with others. Let’s go out and do it.

The humble beginnings of a T-shirt salesman...