NEXT STEPS - "Take Two Of These..."

...and call me in the morning. A timeless prescription...a prescription that used to be for aspirin, now it's a cliche'. Take two of these and call me in the morning!

Ryan's excellent message on Sunday gave us a great prescription to counteract the venomous snake bite that most of us have received in this life, a snake bite that causes fear, worry and anxiety.

He told us how the snake bite can be countered by an antidote --- an antidote of faith, hope and trust --- that helps us to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. This antidote gives us peace.

As Ryan explained from Phil 4:6-7, when we receive the antidote, the the "peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus."

The antidote is amazing, but don't forget your aspirin, too!

Philippians 4:4 also gives us two doses that can counteract the headaches you might feel from this venom. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" The Word is telling us that when we rejoice in the Lord, when we remember His goodness to us, when we allow our gentleness to be evident to all (v.5) we celebrate His marvelous ways, when we think on those things that are pure, noble, right, admirable, lovely, excellent (v.8), then even in the midst of fear, worry and anxiety, the "God of peace will be with [us] (v.9)

Celebrate God, focus your eyes on Him and His goodness, Rejoice in Him and see if that doesn't alleviate some of the headaches.

So, "REJOICE" in the Lord always, I will say it again: "REJOICE"... take two of these REJOICE and call me in the morning!

For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "You Are What You Eat"

When I was a child, I remember when those little candies, NERDS™, came out. I could buy a box of them for about 25¢ at the local milk store, along with 1¢ TOOTSIE ROLLS™, and 5¢ LAFFY TAFFY™ (my personal favorite was the Fruit Punch flavor)... do I sound like one of those, "I-used-to-walk-five-miles-uphill-both-ways-through-the-snow-to-school" kind of guys? HaHa!

Anyway, I say all that to say this: whenever any of us saw one of our friends eating NERDS™, we would inevitably shout out, "You are what you eat!"

Chuckle, chuckle, Ha, Ha...it still brings a little bit of a nostalgic smile to my face today.

I couldn't help thinking of that old saying, "you are what you eat" when Pastor Dave was speaking this past Sunday. Using the analogy of eating a cow (sorry to all my vegetarian and vegan friends), Pastor Dave drew an amazing parallel to how our stomach enzymes break down the essential ingredients of the meat, how our body uses those to build up our new cells, and how it equates to our spiritual diet. In essence, he was challenging us if, physically, "you are what you eat", then the same principle would hold true, spiritually.

Simple, honest, direct... and yet, I was very challenged by that thought!

Just as I try to pay attention to what I'm putting in my natural diet (let's be honest, my wife is doing much better at paying attention for me), I must also be aware of what I am feeding my soul and spirit. 

Think about it: if in the natural, all we ever eat is junk food, our cells will degenerate. We will be unhealthy, obese, sluggish, etc... The same applies in the spiritual.

If all we consume are the "things of this world", then our spiritual bodies will be unhealthy and sluggish as well. Our spiritual diet must consist of the healthy choices such as more time in the Word rather than in the television, more time in prayer than in play, more time in service than in selfishness. After all, if we are what we eat, who really wants to be one of the spiritual NERDS™?


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

A Letter To My Father

Happy Father's Day!

I thought it might be fun to post some great Father's Day quotes. Of course, none of them can fully express the honor, respect and love that I have for all those who bear the name "Father" --- namely my own dad, Dennis Amsden.

Dad, I adore you! I cherish the lessons you have taught, and I can only hope that I bear the name "father" with the same integrity with which you have worn it. Thank you for being you!


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~ Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. ~Author Unknown
~ The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad!~Author Unknown
~ Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards.~Robert Orben
~ Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
~ Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.~Ruth E. Renkel
~ Never raise your hand to your kids.  It leaves your groin unprotected. ~Red Buttons
~ He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland
~ A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.~Unknown
~ Small boy's definition of Father's Day: It's just like Mother's Day only you don't spend so much.~Unknown
~ By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.~Charles Wadsworth
~ It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it.~Margaret Truman
~ Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name. ~William Wordsworth

NEXT STEPS - "Inventive Faithfulness"

This past Sunday, Paul put a phrase on the overhead that really punched me in the face, the gut and the head. (yes, a triple whammy that knocked me out)

The overhead read: "Patient Progress has given way to instant gratification."

We live in an era, just as Paul so humorously put it, where frustration easily sets in when our instant access to the internet gets deterred by a slight modem disruption or when waiting at a stop light takes longer than we had hoped. (side note: it is not the red light that bothers me, it is the yellow light that is just out of my reach and the knowing that I will then have to sit at the red light.)

Yet, I think of that phrase --- patient progress has given way to instant gratification --- and I can't help but imagine all the countless inventors who toiled for years in anonymity so that we might have the technologies of our modern world. From Galileo Galilei to Thomas Edison, from George Washington Carver to that guy who created TIVO, men and women who have given us amazing inventions that have enriched our lives (and sometimes "enabled" them) worked, failed, experimented, imagined and made PATIENT PROGRESS until they had a breakthrough.

Yet, their labors have led, by and large, to our current need for instant gratification. We EXPECT what they took countless years, and sometimes decades, to INSPECT. We must never forget that toil leads to progress. Patient faithfulness over the little things leads to breakthroughs in the big things.

This sermon series we have been on together, [Extra]Ordinary Living, has been a very practical, feet-on-the-ground series, that offers simple steps to experience so much more than an ordinary life. We have the opportunity to be faithful in our daily devotions, in our finances, in our time management. And remember: if all we experience is patient progress, that is progress, nonetheless. Quick, instant inspirations bring very little lasting reward. Instead, it is the inventive, earth-shattering faithfulness of praying daily, reading the Word, worshipping, loving, financial stewardship and proper time investment that will yield the greatest progress.

Let us purpose in our hearts to work, to be faithful, to be the ones who seek patient progress rather than instant gratification... after all, just like Edison once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "My Sword, My Money"

During the conversation this past Sunday, we mentioned several resources that are available to you with regard to seeking financial counsel and gaining Biblical wisdom with regard to financial stewardship.

From Dave Ramsey's financial advice to Kiplinger magazine's investment strategies; from Dr, Ruby Payne's study on understanding poverty to Crown ministries Biblical stewardship advice; we covered a huge topic in broad strokes - all in the hope that we, as followers of Christ would master our finances instead of allowing our finances to master us.

I want to share this brief story with you from the book, YOUR MONEY COUNTS, by Howard Dayton, founder of Crown ministries. I think it is a poignant look at how many people may view their finances with regard to submission to the Scripture.

On page 11 he writes, "When the Crusades were being fought during the 12th century, the Crusaders employed mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Because it was a religious war, the crusaders insisted that the mercenaries be baptized before fighting. As they were being baptized, the mercenaries would hold their swords out of the water to symbolize the one thing in their life that Jesus Christ did no control. They had the freedom to use the swords in any way they wished."

Dayton continues, "Today many people handle their money in a similar fashion, through they may no be as obvious about it. They hold their wallet or pursue 'out of the water', in effect saying, 'God, You can be the Lord of my entire life except for my money. I am perfectly capable of handing that myself.'"

Hmmm...Interesting story...

You can check out more resources from Crown ministries at www.crown.org.


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "Back To Basics"

If you've ever aimlessly flipped through the TV channels, you've probably noticed a lot of infomercials for physical fitness. They all promote life-changing results in short periods of time with advertising hooks like: "Get the body you've always wanted in 90 days!"; "Ripped Abs in 60 Days!"; "Lose 30lbs in as little as 6 Weeks!"; "Drop 4 inches in 4 weeks!"; "Get in shape in 2 Weeks!"; "Get an amazing body in only 10, short minutes a day!"...

The list goes on and on and on... Endless promises through extreme programs. Well, I don't know about you, but I can personally attest to the truth that short-term solutions do not produce long-term results. Instead, lasting change comes from a deliberate daily discipline of eating properly and getting exercise. That's it.

The secret to long-term healthy living is very basic. Burn more calories than you take in and get the proper nutrients to fuel your mind and body. And, rather than crazy contortion exercises with goofy ab-rolling, sit-and-spin, row-boat, wonky contraptions that you may not fully understand, the human body needs basic cardio and moderate resistance exercises to thrive.

Now, I admit: when Ryan announced that he would be speaking on the Will of God this past Sunday, I was more than a little nervous. I couldn't help but think, "oh great, here comes someone to offer me extreme promises for my spiritual health... I get to hop into that crazy, ab-rolling contraption called the Will of God - a device I don't fully understand - in order to get in shape spiritually and understand God's Hidden Will.

However, I discovered, much like Paul's sermon last week, that what Ryan was prescribing was getting back to the basics of our faith. He laid out a very practical plan about the Revealed Will of God given to us in the Word. His exercise plan included a steady diet of the Word, Prayer, Daily Time with Jesus and Ministry to the Body. His Get-Fit program included being sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3); being joyful, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:16-18); and not loving the things of the world but striving to have the Love of the Father (1 John 2:17)...

Wow! Simple. Back to basics... Healthy, daily disciplines to achieve long-lasting transformation and to fulfill the Will of God in our lives!


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "Listening To The Coach's Voice"

When I played soccer in high school, my coach used to hammer us about being tuned in to his voice and his voice alone.

He would stress to all of us players that we should be so tuned in to what he was saying to us while we were on the field, that we would be able to hear him whisper.

During our games, the home team crowd would be screaming and cheering. Yet, even amidst all the voices of the crowd, both the cheers and the sometime-boos, our coach would call our name in order to give us instructions for the next series of offense.


Hardly ever did he raise his voice above room-level, which made it difficult to hear him across the field amidst the noise of the crowd and the trash-talking of the other team.

It took me a long time to learn the discipline of tuning into his voice.

Several failed attempts and many wind-sprints later, I began to value the voice of my coach more than all the other competing voices on that field. And every time I tuned in to his voice, he was able to give me valuable instruction that I still keep in my heart to this day.

The video that Paul showed us on Sunday reminded me of the importance of being tuned into the voice of God, hearing Him above all the other competing voices of our world. Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit, our ultimate Coach for life, is a valuable discipline worth learning!


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - LivingWaters.org

For the past several weeks, I have been writing a weekly article for our church's NEXT STEPS series, a daily continuation of that past week's Sunday sermon - an "unpacking", if you will.

Myself, along with several other people from our church, write these short articles to provide church members with a daily thought, anecdote, affirmation, whatever you'd like to call it.

If you want to read and follow the NEXT STEPS, you can check them out daily at: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html Enjoy!

Also, the sermon archive is: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/sermon-archive.html