The other day I was reading Matthew 4, and a verse that I've read many times over, in the past, just seemed to take on a greater depth of meaning for me. Check out Matthew 4:20.

First of all, Jesus in verse 19 of chapter 4, calls out to Peter and Andrew, who just happen to be hard at work doing what they did every day to support their families, keep new tires on the car, and the kids in Christian school - they were fishing. Jesus said: "Come follow me." So what exactly did they do?

Verse 20 says that "at once they left"....Their response was immediate, at least this time (see John 1:35-42). What was different about this time? Why in the world did they go back to fishing following the first invitation they received from Christ?

That begs the question: How immediate is my obedience? Rick Warren in his popular book, The Purpose Driven Life, writes that "partial obedience is disobedience." Does this mean delayed obedience is disobedience? I think so.

It's incredible to see the level of obedience Peter and Andrew, this second time around. It was an obedience rooted in trust. I'm reminded again of the importance of this truth: To leave something, I need to really trust in what/who I'm leaving it for. Peter and Andrew trusted the Rabbi.

Just a couple of questions that arise from this passage that may challenge each of us today:

-What do I need to leave right now? In other words, what is there in my life that I've put ahead of following Christ? Could it be one of the following? "stuff", Position, Pride, Anger, Comfort, Impatience, Busyness, My Mask, Self, Lack of Trust?
-What things/attitudes keep me from immediate obedience? Am I "delaying" obedience in some area of my life right now?

There is a cost to pay to stay in the Master's dust...Are you willing to pay it...at once?

In pursuit,
DpD

It's Saturday night and I'm back in the pocket. It feels great to be home after being gone most of the week. I really miss my most favorite person when we're separated. I spent about 4 days on the left coast at the LAX Hilton. I attended a great Spiritual Formation Confrence with about 900 other people from around the world. It was sponsored by Biola University, Talbot Seminary, and Renovare'.

Main speakers: Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Marva Dawn, and Larry Crabb. I had the opportunity to attend some great hands-on style workshops and seminars each day. It definitely was a conference worth attending. Plenty of in-your-face challenge. I also had some alot of opportunity to spend some time reflecting.

I'll be blogging in the weeks ahead about some of the stuff I learned this past week...so stay tuned.

Being formed (after being reformed),
DpD

Those incredible Pistons did it! Last night they not only beat their playoff opponent, they whipped their nemesis, the New Jersey Nets, while holding Jason "kiss-it-all-goodbye" Kidd to zero points! Each time the camera panned to the Nets coach, Lawrence Frank, he was standing on the sidelines just looking out at his team...no instructions...no encouragement...no answers,...no coaching. Not a proud moment for this franchise.

Mister Big Shot and Rip led the way by scoring at will from the outside. This opened opportunities for Big Ben and Sheed to do some real damage inside. Defense was again stellar as the Pistons put on a "team defense" clinic.

The next series should be a good one, since the "Stones" and the Pacers match up so well. The difference is in the backcourt, though, and if Big Shot and Rip continue to lead the way, this series will end in 6 games.

Bring on Rick's Pacers!
DPD

The big unit is perfect!

What's your heading?

Often, I find myself experiencing days that have become a string of events controlled by others. Days become weeks full of commitments with very little continuity. Can you relate? I don't believe that our souls were designed for this. No, I believe that we were created for God's purpose and it's imperative that we know what that purpose is.

Author, Gary Thomas in his book Seeking the Face of God, writes that the last words of Christ before death on the cross, as recorded in the Gospel of John, were, "It is finished." Jesus clearly knew, when his life had come to a close, what "it" was. That thought has caused me to continually think about my "it". What is my purpose? What has Christ called me to be - to do? It's my desire to say the same words to my Lord when I'm facing death: "It is finished" - knowing in my heart of hearts what that "it" was.

What's your "it"? Are your working toward discovering and identifying it?

Being transformed,
DpD

Author and speaker, Gary Thomas, was in this past weekend. Gary has written numerous articles in Christian publications, as well as numerous books: Including, Seeking the Face of God (my favorite), Sacred Pathways, Sacred Marriage, Sacred Parenting, and Authentic Faith.

His Sacred Marriage Seminar is the best marriage seminar I have attended. The question he presents in this seminar is: Is it possible that marriage may not be about making us happy, but rather it's about making us holy?

It was also interesting to hear how God's relationship with His people, Israel, and marriage are often alike.

1. There's great joy and celebration
2. There's seasons of frustration and anger
3. There's infidelity and apostasy
4. There's excrutiating seasons of silence

Gary also stated that it takes, on the average, 15 years of marriage for a couple to get to a point where they stop thinking about self and start thinking about being one! That certainly makes Luke 8:15 and James 1:4 come alive with new meaning!

Are you persevering in your marriage? How are you becoming holy as a direct result of your marriage? If you have children, how does it make you feel when people treat your children poorly, or are disrespectful of them, or fail to value them? As you think about how that, I encourage you next, to think about this: Are you treating your spouse as God's child?

Let your life speak,
DpD

As the news breaks regarding the beheading of a young American,Mr. Berg in Iraq, Washington politicians are clamoring to get to microphones to decry how our prison guards have caused this. They refer to it as a "cycle of violence." These same inside the beltway, men and women continue to ask the timeless question: "Can't we all just get along?" The answer is: "Yes, in a perfect world", and "No, in reality."

How in the world do you reason with "people" who are such cowards that they conceal their face while they commit a heinous crime on video and then distribute it to the world. How do you reason with people who look at us as the great satan? How do you reason with people who strap explosives on the bodies of their children and send them out to kill themselves and innocent people?

There are really far too many people in Washington that think all of this would stop, if we would just be nice! Have we forgotten 9-11?

Is he your hero? (We are getting images on Dave's Dusty)

We're moving! This is the reason I have not blogged for a few days. Hopefully this weekend we'll be in the new house and set up ready to rumble. It's been a wild couple of weeks preparing for this move. Our daughter, Lisa, is coming in tomorrow to help with move some stuff and we're looking forward to spending our first night in "the pocket" on Saturday. Vicki will be helping us arrange things! She has done a great job as our interior designer. She's awesome!

You're probably wondering why we would choose to move right during the Tulip Festival? The reason: We knew we could get more help moving since everyone tends to avoid the Festival at all costs! This played right into our hands this week! We may just treat those who help, to a "fat ball" or "elephant ear" purchase at one of the "junk wagons" downtown.

Packin,
DpD