Have you ever seen someone having success at something and it made you angry...I mean mad? The right word is angry but real word is mad. You saw them doing something that you could do or should do and they were succeeding. It might have even been that they were doing the same thing as you and you were struggling and they were soaring!
And if you are like someone else I know you started picking apart what they were doing or how they were doing it. You started listing out in your mind about how shallow they were or how ineffective they were. Or even how the people with whom they were being successful were probably fake shallow or just pretending. No? Me either. Just asking for a friend...
Well, I had one of those moments recently and I was reminded of two things. The first, everything and everyone has a season. Everyone of us goes through seasons of up and seasons of down. Seasons when what we like to do or are paid to do goes really well and we feel great! And then there are those times when our old game is exactly that, our old game. And know body seems to want to play with us anymore.
One quick observation about that. We usually over-estimate our role in our season of up and we over-estimate our role when we are down. The truth is we all have seasons when we are up and seasons when we are down. Just ask any professional athlete.
But that is true for all of us. No matter what we do or how big or small our field might be we all go through seasons.
The second thing my little mad-moment did was remind me, God is not fair. God is not being fair when we are up and God is not being fair when we are down. God is not being fair when someone else is up and we are down. Just so I am clear let me say it again. God is not fair. God is never fair.
He is always right. He is always merciful and gracious and patient. He is never fair! He never gives us what we deserve, what we've earned, or what is fair. And seeing that and understanding that is so crucial.
So the next time you see someone enjoying a different season than you. Try not to get ma... angry. Try not to start dismantling them or their season of success. Remember that God shows us favor when we need it, where we need it and how we need it. Remember the other person has been down and they will be down again and you may or may not be around to see it. But you can at least know that in the end God is always good, even in the season we are in.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
How's your serve?
What an interesting word. If you are in a restaurant the word serve or service means how well the staff takes care of you. Are they prompt, courteous, attentive? Often a restaurant will succeed or fail as much upon the service they provide as the food they “serve.” Mediocre food that is served well can be very satisfying while a great meal can be ruined by bad service.
Take the word serve into tennis or volleyball and you have a whole new meaning. When one tennis player rears back and hits the ball as hard as they can at the other player, it’s called serving. However they do so with every intention of causing the opponent to either miss the ball completely or otherwise fail to return the ball properly. In this instance the word serve really means self-serving. I doubt very seriously that Venus Williams’ opponent was all that pleased to be served a tennis ball at 127 mph, a new record at Wimbledon for a woman. I don’t even want to think about how silly I would look trying to return a serve like that.
But what does the word serve look like in ministry. Is it the effort and intention to provide something for someone else? For many it is truly about putting others above and better than themselves. That is what Jesus did and that is what He calls us to. But sometimes like out of date milk, service can go bad. Really bad!
In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul had to call a few folks out because as they served the Lord’s Supper it became all about their appetites and their indulgences and bore no resemblance to actually serving others…which is the clearest reminder in the experience…Jesus sacrificed everything to serve his body and blood to us!
Serving can become a guise for control and selfishness. Someone can say they want to serve in a certain area or position but the service has nothing to do with what they provide to others, but rather it is all about what they gain, feel, or can influence.
However, make no mistake. It is just about impossible to serve and not get something out of it. Every time you try to lift someone else up or seek to be a blessing to another you will get blessed. Short of experiencing extreme physical pain or personal loss, it is often difficult to not be more blessed by your own act of service than the one you were intending to bless. Which brings us to the crucial word in all of our acts of service, our intentions. It is the heart.
If a person has the heart of a true servant then their service will be selfless and deeply satisfying. If they are seeking to serve their own agenda and aggression, then it will be quite likely they will end up serving in a way that is not really meant for the good of the recipient.
Isn’t it odd that in tennis a powerful serve results in love for the opponent? And only in tennis does the word serve not mean servant hood but love really means zero. How’s your serve?
Take the word serve into tennis or volleyball and you have a whole new meaning. When one tennis player rears back and hits the ball as hard as they can at the other player, it’s called serving. However they do so with every intention of causing the opponent to either miss the ball completely or otherwise fail to return the ball properly. In this instance the word serve really means self-serving. I doubt very seriously that Venus Williams’ opponent was all that pleased to be served a tennis ball at 127 mph, a new record at Wimbledon for a woman. I don’t even want to think about how silly I would look trying to return a serve like that.
But what does the word serve look like in ministry. Is it the effort and intention to provide something for someone else? For many it is truly about putting others above and better than themselves. That is what Jesus did and that is what He calls us to. But sometimes like out of date milk, service can go bad. Really bad!
In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul had to call a few folks out because as they served the Lord’s Supper it became all about their appetites and their indulgences and bore no resemblance to actually serving others…which is the clearest reminder in the experience…Jesus sacrificed everything to serve his body and blood to us!
Serving can become a guise for control and selfishness. Someone can say they want to serve in a certain area or position but the service has nothing to do with what they provide to others, but rather it is all about what they gain, feel, or can influence.
However, make no mistake. It is just about impossible to serve and not get something out of it. Every time you try to lift someone else up or seek to be a blessing to another you will get blessed. Short of experiencing extreme physical pain or personal loss, it is often difficult to not be more blessed by your own act of service than the one you were intending to bless. Which brings us to the crucial word in all of our acts of service, our intentions. It is the heart.
If a person has the heart of a true servant then their service will be selfless and deeply satisfying. If they are seeking to serve their own agenda and aggression, then it will be quite likely they will end up serving in a way that is not really meant for the good of the recipient.
Isn’t it odd that in tennis a powerful serve results in love for the opponent? And only in tennis does the word serve not mean servant hood but love really means zero. How’s your serve?
Monday, October 19, 2015
More About Jesus
The other day I was
listening to a really amazing album. The band is crazy talented, lead vocal is
so good! And the songs are all christian hits and sure to be worship
standards... wait for it... But.
It seemed that while
the name of Jesus was sung... it could have been sung more. And so as I
listened I got this buzz in my head and heart to write a song that said the name
Jesus more times than any song I had heard in a while.
In fact it make me
think of an old hymn entitled "More About Jesus." And so below find
my version of More About Jesus.
If you are a musician
and you hear a tune while you read the words... go for it! There is a tune
"bumping like a fly on a window pain" in my head but I'm not ready to
let it out.
And so in keeping
with my #TwoOvrTen challenge. And instead of being too scared to share... here
it is warts and all.
Scriptural
Bases:
Therefore God has
highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 ESV)
Chorus
Jesus we lift your
name
To heaven above
Jesus we will tell
the world
Of your great love
Jesus we’ll sing your praise
Till every knee
bows down
Jesus we lift your name
We come to bring
you crowns
Verse
O
Jesus more and more
We
want to honor you
O
Jesus more and more
To
your word be true
O
Jesus more and more
We
want to live our lives
O
Jesus more and more
Till
the world sees You!
Chorus
Verse
O
Jesus we confess
That
you are Lord
O
Jesus we confess
That
You’re our King
O
Jesus we confess
We
want your will be done
O
Jesus we confess
And
nothing less
Chorus
Bridge (old
hymn version)
More
More about Jesus
More
More about Jesus
More
of His saving fullness see
More
of His love who died for me
Chorus
Jesus we want to
lift your name
To heaven above
Jesus we want to
tell the world
Of your great love
Jesus we want to
sing your praise
Till every knee
bows down
Jesus we want to
lift your name
We want bring you
crowns
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
What’s up with this TwoOvrTen?
#TwoOvrTen is the result of an inspiring couple of days at Catalyst in Atlanta, October of 2015.
During those two days I heard three of the most inspiring talks I have ever heard!
One was from a man who in spite of incredible challenges has achieved great
success and significance. The second was how God has created us to dream
and create and share all of our gifts for God and with others. The third message came
from Numbers 13. This is the story of the 12 spies who went into Canaan the
first time and 10 of the spies overruled the two who had faith.The result was 40 years of wandering in the
And as I reflected on that story I thought about how it
would have changed history if it had not been the Ten over the two. But what if
it had been the two over the ten!
What if all the doubt and fear and discouragement of the ten
had been overcome by the faith and hope and courage of the two? What if that could
happen in all of our lives? What if we could live #TwoOvrTen lives every day of
our life?
And so I decided that I wanted to be the kind of person who
lives #TwoOvrTen! I decided I want to help other people live #TwoOvrTen lives. I
want the story of my life to be about how I chose to believe God and see what
God wants to do in my life. I want the
same thing for you!
I want you to join me in this. I want you to dream big and
risk something.
So as often as I possibly can I’m going to share thoughts of
encouragement and inspiration with you in every way I can. Follow me on twitter
and Instagram @kennhucks.
I want you to share your dreams and desires using the hashtag #TwoOvrTen . I want you let go and let God take you places you never thought you would have the courage to go!
Beginning now you are not going to listen to the ten.
You are not going to listen to the naysayers and critics.
You are not going to listen to that old voice inside of your head that says you can’t or what if…
But beginning right you’re gonna claim #TwoOvrTen and become all that God has created you to be!
I want you to share your dreams and desires using the hashtag #TwoOvrTen . I want you let go and let God take you places you never thought you would have the courage to go!
Beginning now you are not going to listen to the ten.
You are not going to listen to the naysayers and critics.
You are not going to listen to that old voice inside of your head that says you can’t or what if…
But beginning right you’re gonna claim #TwoOvrTen and become all that God has created you to be!
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