God, Can I spare a spot?

Living in Community on Team Jesus

by Rev Adam Fox

Bench pressing is good for you, and in my opinion - from the Devil. 

Over the Summer, I needed a kick start to my Wedding Diet, so I signed up with a personal trainer at my gym. Mistake. 
My trainer, was a typical Bro. Very strong, many tattoos and hates anything fun to eat.

But I did a month with him. We did all sorts of exercisers to get me in shape and higher metabolism.  Some I liked, others I tolerated, but one I hated, bench pressing. I struggled with my form and keeping the weight even as it goes up and down. It was challenging for me. But I had my trainer there to spot me in case I screwed up.
I remember the week after my trainer time ended, I tried to do the bench press by myself. No spotter. Boy was that a mistake. 
I struggled. I almost got pinned by the bar. Big mistake. 

I should have had help. 
Why do we do that? Why do we let ourselves think we do not need help, we can do things by ourselves? It is not smart. We think alone is the best, and help is for the weak. How silly is that. 

Like the African Proverb says, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
So much truth in this statement. Working together is best, and produces better results usually. 
So with all that said, why do we continue to do things Han Style, Solo. 

Are we afraid to let others in, to make ourselves vulnerable? Is being alone and doing things by ourselves that much more difficult. Do we hide behind the term "I'm Fine"?

I have to admit, I am guilty of this at times too.
One night, God brought this point to my heart and convicted me. He reminded me of the Israelite battle against Amalek in Exodus 17

8 Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

So much of this battle is us in our lives. We are Moses! We try to do things on our own, in our own power, on our own time and fail more often then we care to admit. 
Look at Moses. He promises that he will stand with his staff in his hand all while the battle occurs. 
A challenge already, standing is not difficult just in a long period of time is about as much as he can take. But during the battle, he realizes that every time he lowers is staff, they lose. So obviously, keep that sucker up.
And now Moses is in over his head. 
Thankfully for Moses, Aaron and Hur hold him up and brace him until the battle is over.

Here is what hit me. 
As a Christian, I try to go and do by myself. I naturally do not let people in and keep that at a distance with a broad smile and a high five and nice pleasantry. But I need to let my fellow believers help me and enjoy living in community. 

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

We live in community known as the Church. We need to be willing to pray with other believers, to encourage them, to let them challenge us. That is what we as Christians need to do and do with others. 
Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him in a challenging spot. And most importantly Moses needed God to sustain him. JUST LIKE WE DO!

For I, the Lord your God,
    hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
    I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:13
God promises to be with us and hold us when we need him. A promise from God. But most importantly, we need to be with other Christians, as well as growing our relationship with God.

10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:10-12

Friends, This has been hard for me to write. I am talking with you as much as I am yelling at myself. We as Christians need to be willing to make ourselves open and vulnerable to everyone. And let those close trusted allies encourage us and help us. 
Go together, not just solo. 
While this post is a challenge to yourself, but it is also a calling to look at other Christians. Not to settle with the phrase,  "I'm okay" "I'm Fine". 
Sometimes we are Moses, Sometimes we are Aaron. But no matter which role we are, we all need Jesus. And He is the only one who can truly help everyone. 
Even when we bench press.

Cheers and Excelsior! 

Pastor Adam. 

In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night...

Finding Hope in the darkest of Places

By Rev Adam Fox

Good afternoon my friends. 

What a week I have had. And before you ask, the answer is yes - that is the opening line to the Green Lantern Oath. Hal, John, and even Guy all have claimed that Oath and used it to transform themselves into the green galactic police.

This week reminded me of the Green Lanterns, even at some points, I have thought of myself as a member of the Lantern Corp. But not a Green Lantern, a different one. A new one. 

Sunday Night, my mother had a cardiac episode on the way home from work. She was rushed to the St Joe's ER and then into a room. While I am not hear to give you the minute-by-minute details of our week, you will need to ask the other Fox son. 

AS of this writing on Thursday Night, Mom Fox is holding her own and then some. She is doing so much, and by the Grace of God, back on the marathon of life. 

But in the quite of the hospital, and trust me there is plenty, there has been one thought. How do some people do this?

The Fox Family is blessed, once the call was made about Mom Fox in an accident, word spread. Family, to friend, to coworkers, to neighbors, to churches of all kinds. Prayers and petitions to the God of the Universe, the one and only God for her. 

From Chicago to Springfield, from coast to coast, From Sidney, Australia to Silver Birch Ranch in Wisconsin. People I have not seen or some talked to in years. WE rally. WE pray. WE love. But most importantly WE give hope.

Hope is hard at times. Life can be cruel to the naked eye at moments. Like when a loved one is in the hospital and some of the staff have given up on her already. That is where hope kicks in.

But it is the source of hope that I want to single out. 

I can hope for many things, in this chair holding me up, in the state of Illinois having dunder heads in charge, in the White Sox winning the pennant in 2020... but as a Christian, Hope needs to be from God.

Men will fail us. Science, technology, heroes will fail us. But God never will. The author of Hebrews tells us that. 

David wrote in Psalm 3:2

 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” 

3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. 

4 I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain. 

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 

6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

And that is it. God gives us hope, He is always with us and the one that sustains us. Even when life seems to gang up on you. Or as David puts it - i will fear not even if 10000 of them are against me. 

This is coming from the man who fought a virtual giant as a teenager with just a handful of rocks.

My friends, this has been a horrid week. Hospitals and surgeries and no sleep, and bad coffee all day, but I feel refreshed in my soul. I feel refreshed because of all of my support team, my family, my friends, my church, the other churches, the thousands in attendance and the millions at home. I got two words for ya! THANK YOU!!

But the first question that I started with still rings in my head. How do people who do not have a relationship with God, do moments like this? I do not know.

The only way any of my family can be here, is BECAUSE we have a God who loves us and holds us in His hands. 

A God who gives us hope. 

Thank you all so much. Until next time.

Cheers and Excelsior!

 - Pastor Adam

Like sand through the hourglass...

Can you spare a TIME!

By Rev Adam Fox

I have been  thinking about time a lot recently. Mainly due to Ryan Knudsen.
Ryan was a student of mine from years past. I had the pleasure of being with him as he was led to the Lord when he was in junior high. Ryan, or Nudey, was a great young man that loved life. He is with the Lord now, but in that period of his life in JR High, the 80s ruled. And one of his favorite movies then was Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. 

This movie, and so many other movies with a similar plot, had the two heroes needing to go back in time in order to save the day. We see this formula in the Bill and Ted franchise, Back to the Future, Hot Tub Time Machine, plus hundreds of other worse movies. And let us not forget it is used in EVERY Sci-fi show ever. I'm Looking at you Stargate!
Time is a temptress. It is something we want to control, usually want more of, or to be able to control. Growing up I always wanted to be able to freeze time, or slow it down to a super crawl. 
I wanted to be able to move freely about with everyone and everything frozen. Like Bart Simpson in the episode where he buys a time watch or Quicksilver from the X-Men

I am sure most people have had this dream, to go explore, to wreck havoc, to do what they want - when they want. But time can be a temptress like that. On occasion I still want time to be leaped ahead like forwarding a VHS to the best scenes. 
I am eager to get to February 17 for my wedding. I want months to pass. Or when I was in college, any college - I went to enough - I was in courses and going to classes, mostly. But in those nights, I had the desire to be in the field I dreamed of, but did not want to have to go through my sophomore, junior, senior, and super senior year. 
We all wish and dream away time. " If only Star Wars was coming out THIS week and not December."
Let me remind you of something. Dreams are wonderful, our futures can be bright and splendid. But we cannot leave the now for the temptation of the soon. 

As wonderful it is to dream about future events, or plans, or people - there is nothing more important and certain than the present. The Bible even warns us about future plans. 

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. 15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it. James 4:13-17

The apostle James warns us about making up plans for the future. Plans about wedding stuff, children, jobs, the 2022 White Sox (they will win the championship), or even about future plans. It is a danger. 

We never know what God has in-store for us. We hope that it will be the promotion, the big family, the big home in the suburbs with 2 children and 2 cats. But sometimes it is job loss, illness, death, having to buy a poodle. 

While it is smart to hope for the things ahead, like our desires, or Heaven even. But we must realize and keep close to our heart - we are here for a reason. The special part of life's journey is the waiting and the journey itself. 

but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary;
they will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

We are called to wait and trust. While it is not as fun as counting our future children's children, it is how life works. 

Learn to appreciate the journey of life that time gives us. 

Life may not always go as we planned. I had planned to be working full time for the Chicago Tribune covering the Chicago Bulls and writing witty articles while traveling with  the team. 

We cannot always trust or know the course of the Two Roads, as Robert Frost puts it - but God does. Enjoy each day. Every moment. And most importantly, Be Excellent to Each other. 

Thank you for this reminder Nudey. See you in Glory one day.

Cheers and Excelsior!

Pastor Adam

Quarters, Dimes, and Nickles are Change

Change is Dreadful?

Learning how to be willing to change

By Rev. Adam Fox

A few weeks ago, as I was driving to work, I turned on Mike and Mike to listen in my drive in - which is my normal tradition. I have been listening to the two Mikes for almost two decades. But on this morning, the show was different. They were breaking up. 

Mike and Mike in the morning is a radio and TV show that is dualy broadcasted on ESPN. I have many fond memories of the show from its start in 2000. While it is a sports news show, it still provided many a classic moments from bracket challenges, singing Good Morning from Singing in the Rain,  to Greeny's phobias. But it is over this December. They're parting ways. 

As silly as it sounds, it bothered me. This show has been on, and a constant in my life for almost two decades. And no more. 

Change sucks. 

Is it wrong to want the same thing every day, to not be surprised by new things? For instance, for the majority of my time in Junior College, I had the same lunch. Cheese and mustard sandwich with a soda. Consistency without change. 

 While consistency is to be admired, change is not always a bad thing. Especially if its a cheese and mustard sandwich. But some people fear and hate change. And that is not healthy. 

Having a hatred of change is unhealthy, and it means that you will not adapt to the situation or with the times. 

Sticking your head in the sand and waiting for things to go away does not work. It means that we are intolerant of new ideas and trends and we do not grow. And that is a dangerous place to be in. Even the Bible encourages us to keep growing and learning, to keep developing our mind as well as our body.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2

We are called to grow - to transform our minds. That may mean - reading a new author, trying a new style of food, learning a new technology. Whatever it is, just do it. 

But usually the first step is the hardest, and that is because fear is in the way. 

Fear is something that keeps us stuck, keeps us from changing and growing as a person. Satan uses our fears and anxieties to stop us. Keep us in the prison of our own body and safe place. 

Instead, when we hide behind the fear of change it keeps us in the same spot. Not growing as a person, as a Christian, in relationships, anything. And we use phrases like "we have never done it that way"

Joshua 1:9 tells us "9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I am not going to lie to you, change is frightening. It is. But we will not be alone. God will be with us, just as he was with Joshua. 

Joshua is a great example. God chose him to be the next leader of the nation of Israel after Moses' passing. And Joshua was to lead the people into the land of promise. 

He had to take the place of one of Israel's coolest leaders in Moses. Capture all these fortified cities, leading a group of people that were whiners and complainers. 

But he, as well as I, got great comfort when God tells to be of good courage and not to be be afraid of discouraged. 

Change is all that, but with God on our side, it is do able. 

Finally, Change is going to happen. We can try to ignore it and suffer the consequences or deal with it - fear and all. 

With any decision, from the tiniest to the biggest. We need to pray over it. As Christians, we have access to the Thrown of God - lets use it. Lets wear a pattern into the carpet from our treed on to it getting to His thrown. 

Prayer is important.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We need to be wiling and adaptable to change, but for me. Prayer is the vessel I use to make me want to change. 

When I had wanted to propose to my then girlfriend Andrea, I prayed. I prayed a lot. Is this the right girl? Is this the right time? ... And God answered those Prayers, yes!

Be willing to change. Be open to new technologies. To new way to do things. To new fashions and new foods. To new translations of the Bible. Change is going to happen, it does not mean it is all bad. Let's learn to embrace it. 

Even if it means need inga new radio show to listen to in the mornings.

Until next time my faithful.

Cheers and Excelsior!

Pastor Adam

Learned my everything from the street - the Sesame Street!

College is a lifetime thing

By Rev. Adam Fox

Warning, we are entering the graduate season.

This is the 6-8 weeks of the year where Junior High, Senior High, College, and advanced degrees are receiving their hard earned parchment. AND it means that I as a pastor will be invited to every party under the sun. For those that I know, even for the students who I have seen once. Gifts are gifts. 

But for me, this time period was always difficult. 

I graduated from High School in 2002. And then earned my degree from Olivet Nazarene in 2012. Yep. That is ten years. In that decade, I started and stopped from multiple schools. Dropping out for financial reasons, academic reasons, and life choices. 

College was a difficult thing for me, it took me sometime to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and even longer to listen and do it. Let alone the academic reasons.

Graduating, and especially for the last time is a very special time. It takes so much of your life, your energy and motivation, and most of your money. Do not think I am discrediting that time, or am downplaying this event. 

Like I tell my students, go to college, challenge yourself to be the best version of yourself possible, Do not settle for the quick and the easy. 

For the majority, college and life after is a simple thing. They want to be a teacher - get a degree as a teacher. Easy Peasy.

But for the few life me, it is a hard choice. College is not always in the plans. But that does not mean we should stop learning. 

Learning is something that is not bound to Universities and High Schools. It does not stop at the age of 25. Learning is a life long thing. And as Christians, that is key!

We should never be satisfied with where we are, with what we know, with the level of understanding and wisdom that we have. Solomon wrote that we should want to know more

Proverbs 9:9New King James Version (NKJV)

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

James tells us that God gives wisdom to us in the boat load, we just need to ask!
We need to keep learning, keep being more like our Father in love and grace as well as wisdom. I know it is not always easy, stepping out of our comfort zone never is. But learning and growing is worth it.
And even better, the Bible tells us that we need to share this knowledge and lessons learned to the next generation.

Proverbs 22:6New King James Version (NKJV)

6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Train a Child!  Teach a child! It is not just for parents, although they are the primary teachers and molders of the next generation. But it is a charge to the entire church. Encourage and teach children in the Word, in life, in Godly wisdom.

But let me point out, learning is amazing. It is helpful and produces growth. But we need to leary of the Education trap.
Sometimes, we get enamored with the idea of school, or learning, or the like. I see it with some college kids, they get to a public university and on their own for the first time and they just swallow whatever they hear and see.
They get trapped by the false teachers, and by philosophers and the like. And what they learned about God in the bible is now on equal or less footing with everything else.

Colossians 2:8New King James Version (NKJV)

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

2 Timothy 3:16New King James Version (NKJV)

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

Be careful what you learn, and most importantly keep checking it to the ultimate standard, the Bible. It is and should always be our consistent and guide.

Keep studying, learning, becoming more wise. It is a life long skill. And share these things with others - as well as that God loves them. 

Until next time! 

Cheers and Excelsior!

Pastor Adam!

Eating Coal and Defecating Diamonds

How to Deal with Stress

By Rev Adam Fox

Greetings my bloggers! Forgive the delay, but time may help improve my writing. 

Today I would like to talk about stress.
In my first year at Olivet, I was attempting to go to school full time, work full time, study, run my churches youth department and have a social life. I thought there could never be a more taxing and stress filled life. Then Dr. Quanstrum told us something. He said that you will never have it as easy as you do now. As soon as you graduate, life gets harder. We all laughed.
But he was right. Bills. Food. Marriage. Children. Promotions.... each one of these things takes the stress up to new levels.
And here I am trying to ride the waves and stay ahead, to cope. 

What causes you to stress out? Work? Family? Bills? Sickness? World politics? Taxes? Wedding planning? (Bingo!)

Stress is one of those things that we all deal with, some more poorly than others. It is like having a cold. We all get a cold, but not all of us take care of it. 

Stress or anxiety eats away at us. I remember when I was 17, working at your neighborhood pizza joint, on some busier nights all I wanted to do was go home and play video games. Video games were my way to deal with the pressures that came with the job. 

Was that the healthiest way? No. But we all need something to let the pressure go. WE SHOULD do something productive, exercise or journaling for example. But instead we lean on the quick and the easy options. 

Smoking.

Over-eating.

loose women/men.

 

 Options that make us feel better at the moment, but long term are just shallow and empty methods that bring their own problems.
How should we deal with things that stress us?
Hiding from family will not be a long term option. Putting off taxes will not either. Nor will not going to work. Sadly that is how we deal with stressful issues. We pretend not to have them.
If I do not go to work, I will not have stress.

When I was bouncing between colleges and girlfriends and jobs, stress and I were old friends. But I did not deal with it properly. Instead of dealing with my bad job, the wrong girls I was seeing, and figuring out what I wanted to be (ps- it was a Pastor)

I rested on overeating as my release valve. Eating pizza - whenever I wanted, eating the entire, THE ENTIRE Taco Bell menu. Even when I was not hungry. But food never cured my problems. It just added to them. Like 150 extra pounds and a lot less money. 

We will always have stressful things in our lives. Will they be the same stresses as when we are 17 as when we are 71? Hopefully not. Hopefully we have grown and matured in life. 

We are not worrying over exams and pimples and fitting in. 

As we get older, the things that stress us change. 

Job stability. Health of our family. Retirement. Our Health. Finances. To name a few. 

The things in life that stress us may be personal, and our pride may have us believing we are the only one with the struggle, or its just a few years. You can tread water with your student loans till then.

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4

We ALL face stress. We all have doubt and struggle. It is not an individual thing. Stressful situations will always be there, and by going through them and it produces patience. 

In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul. Psalm 94:19

Doesn't it give you a feeling of reassuredness that David, KING David, got stressed out. But David knew that even though he was filled with Anxieties and stress, God comforts him.

The God cares for us the same amount. He loves us. While we will have difficult times in our lives, it does not mean God has forgotten you and hates you. It is an opportunity to trust him more. 

Stress will come. 

But we need to not lean on chain smoking, over eating, shopping, and other harmful release valves. 

Instead we should lean on God. Trust him for everything. Work hard and find healthy releases. And remember what God told us in Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Cheers and Excelsior!

Pastor Adam

Heart Strong or head Stupid

Is Passion what we need?

Following the Passions of your heart

Rev. Adam Fox

Adults are supposed to be passionate about things. As a surely teenager, my dad tried to instill this to me with lawn care. I had to mow the back yard weekly, and I wanted to do it as fast as possible so to get out of the heat and bugs and back into the air conditioning. 

I really did not care if I missed a little strip or patterns. It was not my passion. 

So, what are you passionate about?

As Americans, leaders in the world, we are encouraged to follow our hearts, to let our passions guide us. But that is not always correct.

I am glad you listen to your heart and your passions - but we should not ignore our other emotions and especially our brain.

I had a friend in high school who had his youth leader encourage him to follow his heart, and his passions. But he forgot to mention to listen to your brain as well. So my friend, did what his heart wanted. He packed a bag, dropped out of school, and went to the train yards and tried to ride the rails as a HOBO. Thankfully, his mother caught him before the train left. 

Was this a passionate idea? Yes. Was it a thought-out idea? No!

Being smart, and passionate are hard to do. Usually we are one camp or the other. And before we continue, let me just point out that being passionate is not JUST limited to sex.

Sex and passion are to different things. Can we be passionate about our wife or husband? Of course! We all should be!

But passion is not the same definition as sex. 

Passion is more than just the love of a woman or the joys of sex, it is something that brings you joy and happiness. It could be found it many things - in an author or book series, in a game, in a place, in sports, and especially in people and family. 

Passionate and knowledgeable about these things, but not just letting your emotions take hold of you and making your head and body captive.  

But as a Christian, what should I be passionate about?

We can be Christians and passionate Bears fans. Or Christians and OC Supertones fans. (Ska Ska Ska Ska)

But we need to be first and foremost we need to be passionate about God and being a Christian.

Being a Christian is more than just attending an hour service on sundays and saying a rehearsed prayer before meals. 

Being a Christian is about putting God first in every aspect of your life. Trying to live a life that is like God. To love like God. To be compassionate like God. To be generous and gracious like God. 

Loving like God is a hard thing to do. Loving others is something to be passionate about. Love.

Not sex or emotional love that we assume we have when we were young and at camp, but a deep Christ like God. 

1 Corinthians 13 is a classic section of scripture that is the definition of love. It is used before most weddings and known to the world. 

Loving like God is a hard calling and will produce great growth in all of us. For me, I am still working on it, being more like God. Being passionate about the things that HE is passionate about. People. 

There is nothing wrong with being passionate and following your heart. But we need to be weary of being emotionally driven and relying onto emotions. 

Listen to your heart, but also listen to your more rational head as well. But be excited and passionate about your relationship with God. About serving his people. Staying in the Word, daily. Praying. and keeping the fire for God fueled so it will NEVER flame out. 

for me, as a continuous growing Christian, I am still working on loving like God loves us. Will I continue to be a passionate Bears fan, of course. But I am going to not live and die on each pass and win ... or more likely interception and loss. 

Until next time my friends. 

Cheers and Excelsior!

Pastor Adam