WHEELMAN (in paperback) is going away on 5/31.
Go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iTunes today and grab 1, 2, or 20 copies and share with others. For Prime members, shipping is free on eligible orders. Let’s see how many we can get in circulation by month’s end.
Grace – unmerited favor.
It’s a word that scares a lot of us guys. But, I read it described this way recently. Let me know what you think:
“Grace brings change.… And ultimately…heart change that will lead to a change in choices and actions…desires. We need the Holy Spirit to take over our lives to the point that what God wants for us is what we want to do…sanctification…To accomplish this state of holy living, we need God to change our desires from those that are natural to us to those that are natural to him.” (from Napkin Theology)
Additional verses to reiterate – 1 John 3: 9-10.
Summary: The only way to live life to its fullest is under the grace God provides, and only then, will the desires of our heart be truly met.
Someone. Anyone. Call Disney up and tell them that. Especially #9 on this list.
Question:
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Will God give us more than we can handle?
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Truthfully…
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One of the most misunderstood attributes of God is that He wants us to live life care-free. (So much for my Ferris Bueller quest, I guess. Chicka–Chick-oww.)
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3 examples of people being overwhelmed–
1.) Moses
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Exodus 4:10-13 (ESV)
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But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”
2.) David
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Psalm 38:4-8 (ESV)
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For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning.
For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
3.) Jesus
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Mark 14:32-36 (ESV)
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And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled.
And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”
And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
In other words…
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God consistently gives overwhelming burdens to those whom He loves.
What does it really mean?
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1 Corinthians 10:1-14 (ESV)
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For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
and all ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.
Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.”
We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.
We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,
nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
In other words…
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Followers of Jesus do not have to question whether God is real. BUT…Followers of Jesus will be given more than they can handle…consistently.
Why does God give you more than you can handle?
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To strengthen our faith and make you whole.
To be whole.
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James 1:2-4 (ESV)
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Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Why does God give you more than you can handle?
3 REASONS
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To encourage us to move…
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To teach us to depend on a strength other than our own.
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To experience His power.
Call on Him…
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Psalm 145:18 (ESV)
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The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Truthfully…
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God is more interested in our faithfulness than our comfort.
Truthfully…
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God is more interested in us demonstrating His glory than trying to pretend like everything is ok.
Bottom Line…
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Will God give us more than we can handle? Most definitely!
And once we realize why, we will be forever grateful.
When the clock hits 11:09am/pm each day, I think of my birthday. Is it just me or do you do something similar that you find odd, slightly disturbing?
I’m trying to decide what is normal behavior and what is pushing the limits of neurosis.
(I should probably reserve more than just 1 week to ascertain this.)
But, quirkiness is sometimes just that…a quirk you possess.
Side note: I’m not trying to belittle neurosis and Jung’s theory at all here. So please don’t misread this post and its intentions. Here’s a great article to read concerning mental health struggles.
Rather, I’d like to focus on actions that are more ‘quirk’ than disorder and not to be confused with: obsessive-compulsive, impulsivity, anxiety, phobias, and hysteria.
God gives us uniqueness all the way down to our finger prints.
My name is anything but unique, but I’m learning to be okay with that–finally. My height is average. But, there are so many gifts just below the surface, and it might just mean taking a little extra time to look for them in your life.
For you–maybe you have a knack for telling jokes. Or, you can condense large bits of information down into relatable doses for those of us less inclined to remember a dictionary. Whatever it is–it’s uniqueness that only you have.
Picture yourself like Wolverine in X-Men recognizing (for the first time) that he has adamantium coursing through his veins.
That is you. Anything but average.
Your name, your height, your eye color might be like billions of others, and that is a good thing, too. It can make your connection to others even stronger. It, too, makes you relatable.
“Loving God, Loving people” is a phrase you might hear a lot. Your quirkiness makes that even easier. Believe it or not.
As I typed this, I just recognized that I haven’t been letting this be (in my life) what it is: a gift. Here’s to a week of letting that resonate with you. Here’s my church’s most recent podcast regarding ‘Biblical Blunders’ and uniqueness of those being used by God (failures and all). Listen here . Part 3 should be added this week, and it includes even more people to study and note their quirks. Hope it helps strengthen your view (of yourself) this week.
Feel free to share quirks you may have.
The Bucket. Kicking the Bucket. Passing on. Reaching heaven.
Where do you see your life going in the next few minutes, hours, weeks, years? Do you have a vision of some sort? Is God directing you to a path?
The Bucket List is something many have thought long and hard about since that cheeky 2000s movie starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. But, people thought about it long before that movie as well. They’ve thought about it for thousands of years. Believe it or not.
The 5 Big questions to consider when making this list of yours: Who? Where? What? When? Why?
These are tough, whether you’re building a Bucket List or not. But, what if we treated everything in our day-to-day lives with a Bucket List mentality? God supreme. Our breath a gift. Where would our map point us?
See, the who, where, what, when, and why give us a full range of questions to help keep our focus on the present. On the progress of each day. Then, if we throw in 1 more question (the How?), we will rarely miss our mark. Because, the How? is self-explanatory. How will we stay on course? – God. (If we answer the How? any other way, it leads us astray.)
So, to go back to the Big 5 (+1 How?) we now have the logic needed to build the best Bucket List ever!
How would you build yours now knowing the purpose behind a life-long Bucket List?
The Brian Tucker Bucket List—
Honor God (and never quit), Become a better husband, truly grateful, Fish for marlin in the Gulf Stream, Write a novel that changes someone’s life, Become a better listener, Go to a “good” concert each and every year, Tithe with a grateful heart, Ride a bull (and/or) run with the bulls, Have a conversation with Charles Portis, Harness my pride and take bold, God-approved stances on issues in our world that would exemplify Christ, Store up treasures in Heaven not Earth, Visit a new continent every 5 years, Be still at least 1 time every day, Play Contra on a drive-in movie theater, Move to Kentucky, have a son, and name him Ken Tucker (safe to say Leah won’t ever stand for that one, I’ve tried), and Travel through the Panama Canal from Atlantic to Pacific Ocean.
Think about yours. Share it as you build it. Write me back.
Here’s a great one I found online—
Last night’s, “My Dear God:” A Conversation on the Faith of Flannery O’ Connor event at The Camp House went swimmingly.
There were so many great topics addressed and quotes given that I couldn’t possibly get them all down.
But, I’ll try to re-cap some of the highlights.
For starters:
Here are some amazing quotes she offered while alive about the topic of prayer (and writing for God). Notice her approach:
O’ Connor developed lupus and only lived to age 39, but, her words still resonate with writers and readers alike today.
One article by Casep Cep in The New Yorker states how she personally utilizes a prayer journal like O’ Connor. She says, “For years, when I was starting to write, I prayed, “God let my words lead them to yours; let me lead them to you.” I wrote that prayer in the margins of pages and on the inside covers of my notebooks, hoping that I would produce something that might serve the Lord.” And goes on to add, “Her (O’ Connor’s) journal ended when her prayers became fully integrated in her writing; the literature itself was a prayer, an offering to God.”
I love that message. So whatever your gift is…Maybe you’re still finding it. Maybe you have more than one. Try to fine tune it and use it for Him. Writing. Cooking. Basketball. Parenting. All of the above. Start broad and narrow your scope over time.
O’ Connor’s cry to God started as a prayer journal that functioned alongside the fiction she created. And when she had listened (and prayed) to God intently to understand her direction in life, she was able to grow and fulfill her purpose strictly through that one medium: her writing to God–His story through her fiction.
What’s your offering?
