Month: February 2017

Genesis 31 – Center Stage

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It’s so easy to exaggerate our self-importance and take center stage in life. We can be quick to focus on our interests, elevate our contributions, and downplay our faults.
In Genesis chapter 30, Jacob and his uncle Laban are caught in a battle for center stage. Both manipulate and deceive, trying to get the best of the other while crying foul over any perceived injustice.
But in their desire for center stage, they miss two important realities…
First, they miss the fact that they are both guilty. Neither sees that their problems as connected to their own sin. Each is so focused on the other they fail to see they’re just as bad as the other.
Second, they’re so focused on pointing out the other’s fault they miss the fact that the God of all creation is doing something in their midst! They each claim God is on their side. They each use God to threaten the other and get their way. Yet they fail to see the bigger picture of what God is doing in their very midst.
What about you?
Do you tend to blame others for your problems, rather than come clean about how you’ve contributed to your problems? Do you ask God to show others how they are wrong more than you ask God to show you how you are wrong? Do you turn to God to make your situation “right,” rather than to make you “right?”
If so, you’ve taken center stage and need to…
  • Ask God to make Himself greater and you lesser. (John 3:30)
  • Ask God to show you your own sin and be grieved over that sin. (Ps. 51:3-4)
  • Ask God to help you focus on changing yourself more than changing others. (Matt.7:5)
We all need to remove ourselves from center stage and put the spotlight back on God. When we humble ourselves before God and others, we’ll more clearly see God and His designs on our life. (James 4:6.)
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

A Dry Run At Eternity

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Sometimes you read thing something that makes you stop and evaluate your marriage, your faith and your life. This guest post from my friend Connie Plummer did that to me, and I wanted to share it with you.

They are like a man who builds a house. He digs down deep and sets it on solid rock. When a flood comes, the river rushes against the house. But the water can’t shake it. The house is well built. – Luke 6:48

In this life, we practice for the important events.

  • A trial run to the hospital before it is time to have the baby.
  • A ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ graduation walk through.
  • A wedding rehearsal.
  • That song you are going to sing
  • That speech you are going to make.

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Genesis 29-30 – Striving

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Everyone wants to feel significant. Often we attempt to find that significance through acquisition and accumulation. We strive to acquire the right partner and the right career. We accumulate more things, more money, and more activities. We do all this in an attempt to feel good about ourselves.
In Genesis chapters 29 and 30, you find Jacob and his wives doing the same thing. In these chapters, Jacob strives to acquire the “right” wife and to accumulate more wealth. Jacob’s wives strive to acquire his favor through the accumulation of more children, hoping to be the favored spouse.
Jacob and his wives reaped the consequences of their misdeeds in the form of deception, favoritism, and manipulation. But God still blessed them, not because of their efforts to acquire and accumulate, but because it is God’s nature to bless us…despite who and how we are.
Nothing has changed since the days of Jacob. Even in our modern day of multiple marriages and wearable technology, we’re still trying to squelch our insecurity through acquiring the “right” relationships and accumulating the “right” stuff.
We need to stop striving. (Ps. 46:10) We need to remember that our blessings are a part of God’s nature and not our wages. We need to remember our significance is in our Creator, not in our acquisition and accumulation.
Ask yourself the following questions…and be honest with yourself.
  • Am I striving to acquire and accumulate in life?
  • What’s driving me to do this?
  • Am I trying to prove something to myself, or others?
  • Am I trying to earn God’s favor?
  • Is this why I’m so tired, worried, discouraged, or frustrated?
You will never realize your significance by acquisition and accumulation. You will only realize your significance by accepting what God has already done for you in Christ.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Have You Overlooked Something?

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In many areas of life, it’s not good to overlook things. If you overlook the traffic light turning red, you could have a serious accident. If you overlook a sponge when sowing up your patient, you could be looking at a serious lawsuit. And if you overlook the door signs when going to a public restroom, you could be facing some serious embarrassment. (Yes, I’ve done that, and I would rather not talk about it.)

But when it comes to marriage, it can actually be helpful to overlook some things.

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The Best Position for Sex

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Now that I have your attention…

Go to your local bookstore and look at the books on sex. You don’t have to wear a disguise or take the Christian bumper stickers off your car. Just act like you were looking for a book on Civil War history and got lost. Then, when no one is looking, take a look at some of the sex books on the shelf.

You will find that the majority of sex books (and there’s a lot of them) will focus on sexual positions, (and there’s a lot of them.) Yet none of theses books will tell you which sexual position is the best.

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Genesis 28 – Standing at the Intersection

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There are moments when heaven seems to intersect earth. A person who can’t afford their next meal suddenly opens the door to find a stranger with a bag of groceries and a story of how God directed them there. A person who sees no reason to live, suddenly encounters what they believe is a sign from God and a new reason to live. A person near death tells of encountering God and being assured that it was not yet their time. These are times when heaven and earth seem to intersect.
Genesis chapter 28 is about such an intersection between heaven and earth. Jacob is on the run because he’s lied to his father and cheated his brother out of his birthright. One night, in the middle of a fitful sleep, Jacob sees a ladder, resting on the earth and reaching into heaven. He also sees angels moving back and forth between heaven and earth. Jacob finds himself at the intersection of the temporal and eternal. The realization changes Jacob, causing him to pledge himself and what he has to God.
As Christ followers, were are people of the intersection. We are the blurring of the lines between the temporal and the eternal. We are the ones with our feet planted on the earth and our hearts and hands reaching for Heaven. We are the portal through which God chooses to move between the two. We are the Bethel…the house of God. (1 Cor. 6:19)
At any given moment, you stand at the intersection between heaven and earth. Whether you’re at home, on the ball field, at work or school, you’re on holy ground. God wants to bridge the gap between Earth and Heaven with you. Let this realization change you and make you more open and sensitive to what God wants to do through you today.
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Genesis 27 – Fear and Striving

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Some people are afraid of not achieving what they desire. They picture success as getting the right job, having the right house, raising the right kids, and taking the right vacations. They are driven by the fear of missing out on what they want.
Others are afraid of losing what they’ve already achieved. They pour their time and energy into improving and protecting their house. They hover over their kids, desperately trying to keep their grades up, their company right and their mistakes low. They give up family time for work, out of fear of looming cutbacks. These people are hyper-vigilant and hyper fatigued because they are driven by the fear of loss.
Both types of people operate out of fear, and that’s what they’re left with…fear.
In Genesis chapter 27, Isaac fearfully scrambles for something God has already revealed was his, and Esau fearfully scrambles for something God has already revealed was not his. (Gen. 25:23)
We are so fearful we’re going to miss something, and we work so hard to ensure we don’t miss anything. Scripture tells us this is wasted effort apart from God. (Prov. 16:33) (Prov. 20:24) (James 4:1-3) (James 4:13-15)
In his song “Prince of Peace,” the late Rich Mullins eloquently described our fear and striving with these words: “I’d rather fight you for something I don’t really want than take what you give that I need.”
How would your life change if, instead of scrambling to get what you think you want, you instead sought the peace and presence of the God you already have? How would your life change if, instead of trying to protect yourself from loss, you counted it all loss for the sake of something greater? (Philippians 3:7-8.)
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

The Light and Dark Side of the Force

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One major theme runs throughout the Star Wars story line. It’s that there is a struggle between the light side of the force and a dark side of the force.

The same is true in marriage. I’m not saying that spouses should solve their conflicts with light sabers (although that would be cool,) I’m saying these forces are just as powerful as the light sabers.

What are these two marital forces?

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Genesis 26 – Feast or Famine

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Life often feels like feast or famine. Either you’ve got all the time in the world, or you’re running out of time and racing the clock. Either you’re a little ahead on your bills, or you’re digging for change in the sofa to cover a bill. Either things are good between you and your spouse, or you get frostbite from the icy chill between the two of you. Either your attitude is rising to glorious heights, or it’s dropping in sickening free fall. Like a roller coaster, we are tossed high and low, to and fro, by the feast and famine times of life.
Isaac goes through many ups and downs In Genesis chapter 26. He goes from literal famine (v.1) to a time of great abundance (v.12-14.) He moves from exercising deceit (v.7) to exercising integrity (v.16-33.) On top of all that, Isaac’s son, Esau, is making his life difficult and bitter. (v.35.)
But despite all of Isaac’s ups and downs, God never abandons him. God continues to be a Participator in Isaac’s life. Good or bad, God is there, faithfully revealing Himself to Issac and guiding him through all the twists and turns of his uncertain life.
The same can be said for us. Whether in feast of famine, God continues to be present and participate in our lives. The problem is, we’re often too busy basking in the feast or scrambling in the famine to notice His presence or participation.
How much more assured and peaceful we would be if we just looked for God’s presence and participation in both our feast and famine times?
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.