jayhardwick.com

Noise Erodes Delight

A crazy thing happened yesterday in the Hardwick house. I woke up, on my own, at 5:15 am...AND, I rolled out of bed wide awake! I am not a morning person at all, can be quite incoherent when I first wake up, and I NEVER wake up before my alarm goes off.

But, not long after a fresh cup of coffee was in hand and I was munching on a bowl of Cheerios with bananas did I know why I was awake. God had something to say...and He was dropping the hammer on me!

I read blogs. I've sort of gotten sucked into this Twitter thing. I'm on Facebook. I read a lot. I love meeting people. I get invited to attend a lot of conferences. In other words, there is a high level of noise in my ears and head most days. I was in Psalm 1 yesterday and verses 1-2 kicked me in the tail:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night."

Immediately, some questions hit me hard:

• Am I more eager to hear what God has to say to me or what someone wrote on their blog or in their book?
• Do I meditate more on what God says to me through His Word or what I read somewhere else?
• Can I even hear what God has to say to me through all the noise I've created for myself?

The noise I've allowed into my life is slowly eroding my delight in God's Word. I'm reading and journaling through Scripture as much as I ever have...my challenge now is not allowing the noise to drown out my delight in what God says to me and my ability to keep it front and center throughout the day.

So, I need your help...how do you deal with noise in your life? How many blogs do you read? Do you have a set time of day that you read blogs, books, etc.? How do you decide what blogs to read? If you use Twitter, how do you use it so that it is not a constant distraction...Twitterific drives me crazy with all its updates :-).  How do you keep God's Word front and center and delight in it above everything else?

I'm really interested in learning how you deal with the noise...

Wait For It

The last few weeks have been the most frustrating weeks of our journey in Columbia. Lots of second-guessing, questions, confusion, impatience, and sleepless nights. When you sign up for leading in new directions, seasons like this are inevitable - Seth Godin calls it the dip.

But, it still stinks when you hit one.

I've never done or been a part of a work similar to what God has called us to do here. Most decisions that I make are, at best, educated guesses. Consequently, my prayer life has never been more important or stronger, I think! I'm learning more everyday what Paul meant when challenged the church at Thessalonica to "pray without ceasing."

If I'm honest, I have to say that my patience has been stretched to the max throughout this journey. Sometimes, it gets stretched so far that I wonder if God is even there or if we've just completely screwed something up.

Then, last Wednesday, we gathered with the people that God is assembling together to launch this movement. We shared our hearts, we wrestled openly with what God is up to in and around us, and we prayed. One person shared this passage of Scripture and it rocked my world:

And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. - Habakkuk 2:2-4 (ESV)

Too often, I am the guy who's soul is puffed up and not upright within me. When that happens, I question God's timing, work, calling, and presence in and around me. I live like everything is up to me.

But, God knows exactly what He's doing (surprise, surprise). He calls me to wait. He's not dragging His feet. He's preparing me for what He's going to drop. He's preparing our people for what He is going to drop.

The vision is coming. It will not delay. It will not be late. It will be right on time. When it comes, it will be clear. When it comes, I have to make sure it's clear to those who will work it. It needs to be clear so they can run unhindered in the right direction.

My call is to live by faith. My faith is not in what I can see, it's in what I cannot see. My faith is not in what I know, it's in Who I know.

I went to bed Tuesday night frustrated. I went to bed Wednesday night encouraged. I woke up Thursday morning and felt like a pastor again, not just a dreamer/visionary. The vision is coming...we're living by faith and waiting.

Whitewashed Tombs

Some real-time reflecting for you on a gorgeous Monday morning...

Read in Matthew 23 this morning...Jesus' 7 Woes to the scribes and Pharisees. Some serious, in your face preaching that kicked my butt. Specifically, I journaled on verses 27-28:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

More than I'd like to admit, that describes me. It's my default mode and it's sort of what I grew up on. Way before I knew how to care for the condition of my heart and soul, I knew I wasn't supposed to drink, smoke, chew, or have sex. In other words, I knew how to clean the tomb way before I realized the death cooped up inside.

But who am I kidding...I still fall back into doing more to make the outside look good than to deal with the death on the inside. Here's a thought that hit me this morning:

A clean graveyard is still a graveyard. Death is obvious and life is absent.

On the surface, graveyards are pretty. Freshly manicured lawns, fresh flowers, beautiful stone markers...some even have historic chapels. But no one likes going to a graveyard. Not because they aren't nice, but because of what is inside and underneath. It's still a graveyard, no matter how beautiful it is.

Am I pretty on the surface and dead just below? In the short-term, people can be fooled by my whitewashed tomb and neatly trimmed lawn. But over the long-term, what is inside will work it's way out. It starts with the people closest to me and works out to people I only meet one time. If death resides in me, my family will reflect it. It will become obvious even to the most casual observer. They may not put their finger on it, but they'll scratch their heads and wonder, "Something's not right with him."

Jesus is never fooled. The Pharisees didn't fool Him and neither do I. He sees and knows it all. A surefire way to live without the blessing of God is to care more about the outside than the inside.

My choice today: trim the grass and wash the tomb one more time or come face to face with what's inside?

My Feeding Plan

The thought of my life and leadership being as repulsive as maggot-covered, stank bread was just too much for me to gloss over when God challenged me at the beginning of 08.  So, I made daily time in His Word a priority for 08 and set a pretty lofty goal.

Like I said yesterday, I am not naturally rhythmic at all.  I'm jealous of those who are.  But, that is no excuse when it comes to feeding on the daily bread God provides.  I've had to adjust a little since the beginning of the year, but here is my plan:

Before I do anything productivity-related, I spend time reading The Word. 

Physically writing notes in the margins, underlining, etc. keeps me focused, so I switched over to a "book at a time" Bible reading plan produced by Discipleship Journal and now use my new Bible.  This reading plan works well for me because it works through about 3 chapters per day plus a reading from Psalms or Proverbs.

After I read, I journal immediately.

I use Wayne Cordeiro's SOAP outline.  Cordeiro writes about this plan in-depth in The Divine Mentor, which was one of the most refreshing books I have read in a long time.  The goal is to focus on one scripture from my daily reading, meditate on it, and then write what God says to me.  Here's the outline in a nutshell:

S = Scripture.  Write out the verse(s) word for word in my journal.
O = Observation.  What happened in the verse(s).
A = Application. How am I going to apply what I learned, and experienced in this verse(s).
P = Prayer. Write out a prayer for applying the truth(s) to my life.

Typically, I have done a terrible job journaling my journey through scripture.  With this outline, I have confidence and God is using it to speak directly to my heart each day.  My biggest challenge is zeroing in on one scripture to meditate on and journal about. Of course, I journal using the famed Moleskine.

After I journal, I pray.

This takes on a lot of different forms. Sometimes it's in the shower. Sometimes it's while I'm driving.  Sometimes it's on my knees. But I always pray my written prayer from my SOAP outline and pray for the other things on my heart.  I pray for my family, my friends in ministry, neighborhoods I drive by/through, friends I am investing in, etc.  I try to capture these things in my journal as well.

On Saturday or Sunday, I rest.

God provided two days worth of fresh bread on the day before the Sabbath for the Israelites.  He literally wanted them to do nothing but enjoy Him and rest in Him for an entire day.  So, I have added this into my plan as well.  I take a day off from reading, journaling, and praying and just enjoy what God has taught me, what He is doing in and around me, and dream about what might be next.

So, that's me.  Anyone else want to share your feeding plan?

Stale Bread Stinks

Sandwich anyone?

As repulsed as I am and you are by that picture, I wonder if it's even close to the feeling God has when we ignore His daily bread and try to use the stale bread left over from yesterday...or last week...or last month...or last year.

And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning." But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. - Exodus 16:19-20

God provided daily bread for the Israelites with the understanding that each day they would take as much as they needed for that day, but they were not to save any of it for the next day. They were to trust God to provide for them each day exactly what was needed for each day. The same is true for us...Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread (Luke 11:3).

If they ignored His command and tried to skip a daily feeding by living off of yesterday's leftovers, they were met with a rude awakening. The sweet tasting manna of yesterday was covered in maggots and stank. Stank...who knew that was in the Bible?!

When we're intimately connected to the Father through His Word, it shows (John 15:5). When we're not, it shows, too. Not just to God, who sees and knows everything, but to those we labor with and those we lead.

So, are you moldy or fresh? Did you pick up fresh bread today or has it been a while? If it's been a while, are you ready to trade in that moldy, maggot-covered, stank invested left over stuff for some fresh bread?

At the beginning of the year, I felt God challenging me in this area of my relationship with Him. I'm not very rhythmic at all...I'm quite scatterbrained at times. So the challenge was to commit to a rhythm. It's not been easy, but it has been beyond rewarding. I'll share my plan tomorrow.

In the meantime, what do you do to pick up fresh bread each day?

I'm With You Moses

Leadership is tough. Always has been. Always will be.

Moses had an experience in Exodus 17 that every leader can identify with and learn from...I know I did.

The Israelites are once again complaining...this time that they don't have enough to drink. I wonder if Moses wanted to go Coach Herman Boone on them and say,"Water is for cowards. Water makes you weak...we are going to do up-downs until (all you Israelite wimps) are no longer tired and thirsty." Can you imagine a million Israelites doing up-downs in the middle of the desert? :-)

After Moses hears enough of the complaining, he cries out to God, "What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me?" (17:4) If you're a leader, you've asked God that question.

And as you ask it, you're thinking about all the good you've done for them and how much God has blessed you and them to this point. And you're frustrated that all they see is the current challenge and all the good is forgotten. I have no doubt Moses was in the same boat.

Look at what God says in response:

"The Lord answered Moses, 'Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.'" (17:5)

God gave Moses a choice: Keep moving forward and trust Me or sit around and wallow in self-pity because everything is not "gee whiz and hallelujah" at the moment. If Moses decided to "walk on," he'd take a step of faith because he would have to turn his back to the people in order to walk ahead. Remember...he was scared they would stone him. But, Moses knew he could not provide what was needed.

The only thing separating the people from the provision was Moses' obedience. Moses' question was about the people. The solution had nothing to do with them and everything to do with Moses obeying God.

What step of obedience do you need to take to "walk on" and unlock God's provision for the people entrusted to you?

Just last week, I had to make an incredibly difficult decision to say, "No" to an awesome opportunity in order to say, "Yes" to the next step God has called us to take in Columbia. Easy? Nope. Did God provide? He still is! He'll do the same for you. Walk on!

I Can't Wrap My Mind Around This

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
Isaiah 53:3-12

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

Praise You, Jesus, Praise You.

Move On

I second guess myself often. I'm sure you don't...but I do. I want so badly to get it right...to have the right answer...to know clearly what the next step is...to have the skills to pull off something huge. And most of the time, I can honestly say that it's not for me or my glory.

I want so badly to be a part of a move of God that sweeps this city, this nation, and stretches to ends of the earth. I don't just want to talk about it...I want to see it happen and be a part of it.

That's a good thing. It quickly turns into a vice when I think it has to happen right now and that I have to generate all that is necessary to make it happen. In those moments, doubt creeps in and I turn into a wreck.

I start to doubt God calling us from Greenville to Columbia. I start to doubt the early glimpses He's given me of what we are to do here. I start to doubt myself as a leader capable of pulling it off. Anybody with me on this?

The Israelites faced a similar scenario in Exodus 14. Pharaoh changed his mind on releasing them and now was in hot pursuit. The news alone made the Israelites stop everything and cry out to Moses and to the God who delivered them. They questioned the power, motives, and goodness of their Rescuer. And Moses says to them:

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring today...the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Exodus 14:13-14

What incredible encouragement...don't be afraid, you'll see deliverance today, the Lord is fighting for you, rest in that fact...but then God chimes in and confuses the situation a little:

"Then the Lord said to Moses , 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.'" Exodus 14:15

Be still.
Move on.
Which is it?
Both.

So often, my doubt is based on what I can/can't do with little to no consideration for who God is and what He can do. This only leads to a pursuit of being ____________ enough as a means of relieving my doubt. The problem is I'm trying to relieve my doubt with more of me...not more of the One who fights for me. To that pursuit, God says, "Be still."

But God didn't rescue you and me so that we would just sit around and wait on Him to fight all our battles and when He's done, come get us and say, "It's okay to move forward now."

He called you and me out of slavery and into this journey by faith so that we would live by faith. So that each day, we'd have to make a decision to MOVE ON because of our great confidence in His power, not in our own. When you doubt yourself, but know what has to happen next, God says, "Move on. I am fighting for you."

Be still in your attempts to be good enough.
Move on with full confidence that your Heavenly Father is more than enough.

What do you need to do today to move on in your journey?

Pride is Blind

A couple of months ago, I did one of the dumbest things I have ever done while operating a car...and of course, Lara Beth was in the car with me, which gives her a ton of laughs and talking points now. :-)

We were on a little anniversary getaway and on our way to a nice, relaxing dinner. The place where we were staying had a very narrow driveway with a picket fence on one side and an old, sideways growing oak tree on the other. No problems the first 4 or 5 times we drove in and out.

We borrowed someone's GPS deal for the trip and since we didn't know where the restaurant was, I began searching for it on the GPS while also attempting to back out between the fence and the tree...only I forgot about the fence. Of course, my wife did all she could to get my attention in the right place. But man, that GPS thing was cool!

With the GPS in one hand, my other hand on the wheel, and my head only focused on the tree, I ripped my driver's side rearview mirror off on the fence. Yeah...my mirror was hanging by a wire. So I did the man thing and jammed it all back together and somehow got it to stay on the car.

It's still broken...but everytime I see it, I'm reminded of an important lesson that I seem to need to be reminded of often.

When I get so absorbed in myself and my deal, I become blind to the damage my pride causes around me. Pharaoh had the same experience in Exodus 10.

"This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'" Exodus 10:3

Pharaoh was worried about Pharaoh and thought he had a chance to stop the will and glory of God. His pride had blinded him so that he could not see that his precious nation now lay in ruins. But those around him saw it.

Pharaoh's officials said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?" Exodus 10:7

Pride blinded Pharaoh. Pride blinds you and me, too. If you hang on to it long enough, everything that is important to you will lie in ruins. And God will simply ask, "How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?" But thank goodness he also sends people to ask us, "Do you not realize..."

Don't hang on long enough to break a mirror, a marriage, a church, a friendship or worse. Don't ignore the voices that ask you, "Do you realize?" When it gets to that point, the very thing you're trying so hard to protect is likely already in ruins. But thank goodness...

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

I Am Sending You

Good to be back among the living on this beautiful South Carolina Monday morning! Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes...God is good and He used so many of you to speak loads of encouragement into our family over the last week or so.

I was in Exodus this morning...and God spoke loudly to me and I feel compelled to share it with you. It's that good!

In Exodus 3, God calls Moses to be His guy. Check out the set-up...God says,

“I have seen the misery of my people...”
“I have heard them crying...”
“I am concerned about their suffering...”
“I have come down to rescue them up out of that land...”

At this point, you have to think that Moses is relieved that God knows about everything that's been going down and that He's about to save the day. I bet Moses was waiting on the sky to break open and the power of God to come barreling into Pharaoh's house to destroy him and set the Israelites free. But, that's not what happened.

“So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Moses says, “Ummm, excuse me, God. But did you just say you're sending ME? What was all this 'I have come down to rescue...” stuff? You do realize who I am...I am nothing and nobody. You do want this to work, right?”

And God says, “Yeah, I know who you are...I made you for this. You are going to be my representative. You are going to be my mouthpiece. Everything I see, you'll see. Everything I hear, you'll hear. You're right, you're not adequate on your own. But, I am with you.”

I am sending you.
I am with you.

God has heard the cries of the hurting, oppressed, and hopeless in your city, your neighborhood, your office, your school. He has decided to move on their behalf. You are His representative. You are His mouthpiece. He has called you, sent you, and He is with you...TODAY!

He is with you to give you what you need when you need it so that people will be rescued by His power and grace. Believe and act on that!