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So tonight I went to the mall to do a little shopping (which I love, so don’t hate) and thought I would pray for God to give me an opportunity to share Jesus with someone. During my drive I felt like I was supposed to look for someone wearing a purple hat. I thought this was funny because that is such a specific thing to look for. Not many people wearing completely purple hats walking around the mall these days. I was shopping the mall a couple of hours with people all around me and no one wearing a purple hat. The mall I went to is a mile long circle where the chances of passing people more than once is fairly high. Plus, it was a Saturday so there were A LOT of people out and about. I went into my last store to make a purchase and as I was starting to walk out I thought to myself, “well, maybe God told me to connect with that “purple hat person” just so that I would be obedient to look for them but not actually connect with them.” Sometimes as a follower of Christ, it is important to realize that when God asks about something it may not be for the direct outcome that one expects. This, however, did not happen to be one of those days. As I walked out of the store and towards my car, I spotted a guy wearing a completely purple hat!! I thought, “Holy crap. Are you kidding me?” I don’t know why it surprised me but all of the sudden I got a knot in my stomach. This was the put my “Spiritual money where my mouth is” moment. I decided I didn’t want to have the conversation with God on the drive home about not following through with something that I ASKED for so I did it. I walked up to him and said, “can I ask you a question? I was praying when I was driving to the mall and I was supposed to pray with/connect with someone wearing a purple hat.” He just looked at me, not even surprised at what I said so I kept talking to him. I said, “is there anything that I can pray with you about?” He said no so I asked him, “do you have any preachers in your family?”He said, “probably.” I said, “do you go to church?” He said no but he used to. I told him, “well I am supposed to tell you that God still loves you and misses you.” He accepted what I said, shook my hand, thanked me and we went our separate ways. There were no tears, no earthquakes, no hugs and confessions of sins in that mall but it was an opportunity for a seed to be planted in that guys life. I walked out to my car with successful purchases that I found this evening and a heart full of appreciation that I could do something for God in a tangible way. That may sound weird that I would even mention the things I bought, but the God I serve is not separate from me purchasing things or talking to a total stranger about His love. Too many times we divide the “spiritual and the non-spiritual” in life. Am I saying that my purchases were spiritual? No, but I did get some screamin’ deals tonight including a brick red designer jacket that you will see me in when it gets colder! Haha I am saying that my “flesh action” of going to the mall to goof off and have fun directly correlated with me sharing Jesus. I want my life to be a perfect blend of fun enjoying life and enjoying doing God’s will. If they are separate then we will always think we have to choose between the two when we never have to. A perfect blend of enjoying life while considering eternity (which is also my vision statement, by the way, with my job in Christian TV)

There are a couple of reasons why I shared this story with you. Our prayer every day of our lives should be for the Holy Spirit to interrupt us with his will. I was not only put on this earth to only love people myself but to intersect other lives with the truth, healing and love of Jesus. If we are not asking God for opportunities to reach out to people in this world then it probably won’t happen. If I am going to be telling people in my private (and soon to be TV life/program) that they need to reach out to the world around them with God’s love, then I better dang well be doing it myself! I never want people that I come in contact with or who know me to think that I am just a good “teller of others” on how to live a Godly life. I want to be at the tip of the spear myself asking for God to work and do things through me.

I want to challenge you to pray similar prayers and listen to what the Holy Spirit says. God is ALWAYS speaking and sometimes those words need to come through followers who, even though they are enjoying their time buying a sweet jacket for a great price, are willing to listen to the Holy Spirit and plant a seed in someone’s life that can grow into something amazing. Anyone who says following Jesus is boring doesn’t know what the crap they are talking about. Start asking God to give you people to connect with and let the fun begin!!

So we are now in the full holiday swing with commercials from companies trying to get you to spend money you don’t have on crap that you probably don’t need.  I normally don’t watch commercials because my wife and I have been lured in quite firmly to using DVR and recording all of our shows. My dad and nephew were with Yolanda and I this past weekend for Thanksgiving and I noticed a couple of commercials while we were watching football games that really made me sad and concerned for the marketing that is being used to encourage people to buy their product.  One was for the new Nintendo WiiU which seems harmless enough, but what Nintendo was promoting was disappointing.  They had a kid in his room playing his video game and a mom came in to tell him to turn the game off and she stood in front of the TV so the kid could not see.  The kid then proceeded to just use the handheld touchscreen on the WiiU controller and keep playing after his mom told him to stop.  The kid looks at the camera with a sly look and the mom just laughs like, “you sure got me son.”  So essentially to promote the large playable touchscreen on the WiiU remote they were essentially saying that even if your parents stand in front of or turn the TV off then you can just keep on playing and ignore their direction.  Very disappointing that this angle was taken to promote the game console and flies in the face of the scripture “children, honor your mother and father.”  I know this may seem like a stretch, but it just struck me as wrong and a HUGE signifying factor about where we are as a culture and the relationship now with kids and parents which is equal and not at the proportion God intended.  The other commercial was for the Buck Lacrosse.  It starts out with a guy buying his wife a new small different brand of car with a bright red bow on it and he surprises her and she hugs him and is completely happy.  Then, as she is hugging her husband, a Buick Lacrosse drives by behind his back and she stares at it and all of the sudden is not happy with the car her husband bought her.  He tries to hug her again and get her attention away from the Lacrosse but she keeps staring at the Buick with her arms at her side.  What a classic example of not being content with what you are given.  That is really what our culture is all about; being unhappy with what you have, to spend money on something you don’t need.  I was again disappointed in Buick but should not expect more considering the core desire of our flesh which is to want things that we don’t have and not be content with what we are given or what has been sacrificed for us.  We do the same thing with Jesus in each of these instances.  He steps in and tries to give us direction and we get distracted or “go around” what he is saying to keep doing what we think is best.  He gives us something and we are not happy with it and desire something else that is not in our possession.  Don’t let this holiday season be about distractions and greed for something more than you have.  I pray that you get the same kind of revelation I received from watching two simple commercials and considering where I am in my mind and life.  Let us be only focused on Jesus and grateful for the things he has given us.  Please share this link in Facebook or Twitter if you know someone who would benefit from this post.  Thanks and have a great day!

I am sure that I have many Facebook and Twitter friends who wonder why I post Emergency prayer requests for certain people and not for others.  I wanted to take a blog post and let people know why I do this and help explain why I pray that way sometimes for people.  I am trying to pray and listen to the Holy Spirit every day of my life.  Facebook for me is a great way to see what people are up to in their lives but also to see the needs of people I have known through the years.  I normally know when I get a “check” in my spirit and feel a need to post something going on in someone’s life that needs an extra dose of prayer and encouragement. That is why I will do a Facebook post for them. There are so many things that I hear about through Facebook Friend Prayer Day on Tuesdays. I could be posting emergency prayer requests all day!  Its not that I am trying to play favorites but that the people I post on my feed for prayer are ones that I feel like God has prompted me to raise visibility of their need.  When I see needs on Facebook I pray for them so I am getting prayer to really anyone who posts a need.  But I need to stay obedient to God when I feel like the Holy Spirit wants me to get more people praying than just myself.  I don’t feel like I am the “determiner” of what is more or less important but I am only doing what I feel God wants me to do.  You will always notice that I say on prayer days that I will AGREE with you in prayer.  This is not that I will pray for something and then the “magic will happen” because it’s not about me.  It’s about God and his power and mercy being exhibited in people’s lives. I really want Facebook and Twitter to be vehicles to touch more people than I can on a daily basis living in Denver. Emergency prayer requests are just another way of helping people see that Facebook is not about posting what you had for lunch or vacation photos (although sometimes those things are appropriate :). It’s about doing something for someone else at their point of need.  Jesus did that for us 2000 years ago by dying on a cross for our sins.  Which was the ultimate “Facebook Friend Emergency Prayer” for each of us.  Have a great rest of the week.

Today I was thinking about Pastor Wally Hickey and the legacy he leaves on this earth.  So many people from so many countries around the world will feel his passing.  I truly believe that when we are born and start our lives that we strive to be a world changer.  Someone who will be remembered for something great and leave a lasting mark on this world. The interesting thing for Pastor Wally was that he only wanted to be known because of Jesus inside of him.  Not for the glory or the fame, but if he had those things, he would turn it back to God.  I have only been at Orchard Road for a little over twelve years and many people here have known Wally for much longer than I have.  I didn’t have to know him for his whole life to see who he was.  When you would ask someone about Wally, you would only hear about Jesus’ love shown through his actions.  Whether it was through his singing worship, rhyming in prophetic words, favorite sayings, his “Dear Ones” in the bulletin, loving his kids Michael and Sarah or supporting his world evangelist wife, you saw how Jesus would handle the situation.  Pastor Wally was not perfect, as none of us are.  But he consistently and frequently consulted God on all decisions which is why so many people can say, “that man touched my life.” His life is an example of staying faithful to the things that matter most in life; to God, to the vision God gave him, to his wife and to himself.
If you knew Pastor Wally, I ask you to think about how you are going to allow his legacy to live on in your life. I know that I want people to not say some day when I am gone that I was tall, funny or other irrelevant things.  I want them to say I was a lover of God, my wife, my family and the people he put in my path. Not that I am perfect, but I serve a perfect God who, when I let shine through me as Wally did, can have a sheen of perfection because of Jesus in me.  Let Jesus love shine through you too. It would put that slight smile on Pastor Wally’s face and make him happy, which is just like Jesus.

I have been wanting an iphone 4 for quite a while and have learned recently that the more I “push” for something that I want the more God provides the resistance I need to keep me in check (which sucks sometimes but is necessary for good ol Bri).  The journey to my iphone 4 starts with me talking with my Dad about helping me buy an unlocked iphone for our orphanage manager in Nepal.  Our manager had mentioned that he would like one and was willing to give me money to buy one for him but I wanted to be a blessing to him.  My dad agreed to help me out and I started to search craigslist for a good deal on a nice 3gs.  It was like the more I pushed the crappier the deals on craigslist got.  I could not find any phones within the price point I was looking for.  I finally just prayed (too bad this ends up being the end and not the beginning sometimes) about finding a phone for Emanuelle (our manager). My friend Scott said he and his brother had 2 3GS phones that I could have for a really cheap price (within my budget) and they are on there way here as I type this blog.  For a point of reference, when the Playstation 2 came out many moons ago my friend Scott bought me one and surprised me one Christmas as well as giving me an old skool XBox back in the day and bought me my first Sony PSP.  Needless to say, he has been an amazing blessing to me in a way that may seem stupid to some people because these are “things” but to a pastor not making great money through the years, it was a great thing to have these blessings in my life and Scott knows that I appreciated each of them including the iphones this week.

During this time, I had been saving money to put towards an iphone 4 eventually but saw the ridiculous prices on craigslist.  During all of this I had a conversation with my friend Eliphaz and I was teasing him about always having what he wanted and he told me something that really changed my perspective on God’s blessing and favor in my life.  He said that God had always provided for him and that he was not nervous about God supplying all his needs (including a desire to have cool electronics) 🙂 I know that seems like such a simple principle, but it was something I needed to hear at the perfect time.  I took the same attitude with my iphone 4.  An amazing phone, but I wanted it to be God’s timing and not be a mental distraction like “things” can be so often in our lives.  Technology is my challenge to keep in check in my life but we each have things that we maybe try and “keep from God and manage for him” which is wrong.  When we come to the place of surrendering our desires to God we actually have more provision than we know what to do with.  So back to my iphone story.  I found a guy on craigslist who would trade me my 3gs (thanks again Christy) for an iphone 4 and some additional money that I had saved.  We met today and it was awesome.  We ended up sitting for about 45 minutes and I got to talk to him about God, pray over his phone business and invite him to church.  He not only gave me a better phone with 8 months left on a warranty but also a case for the phone.  Of the 2 phones my friend Scott is sending me (thanks again Phillip and Scott) one is going to be a blessing to our manager in Nepal and the other will be hopefully sold to help Yoli buy her iphone at the end of the year. 🙂 The motivation for all these stories in this blog is about God’s provision and not the provision I was seeking in my life.  In all of this, we were able to have money to pay for new blinds downstairs in our house, a phone for our manager in Nepal, extra money to save (staying within the budget we set for all these things) and I got an iphone 4 with a case and 8 months left on a warranty.

All I have to say is WOW and thank God for his provision and blessing in my life.  Again, I know this is a story about “things” but I can see the hand of God so clearly through all of this situation.  So remember to always let God have control of ALL areas of your life including desires that YOU think God doesn’t really care about.  Things” in life are not wrong when those desires  are surrendered to God so he can give the multiplied provision.

Well i broke the first “tech commandment” of mine and bought a first generation iPad. I am actually typing this blog on it right now in fact. My wife and I talked about it and we felt like we didn’t need to wait for the next generation iPad coming out in the next few months and had Christmas money that we had a saved. I have had a Kindle for almost a year and really loved it. Now you would think that because i now have the mighty iPad that i would sell my Kindle but you would be mistaken. I am going to keep both my Kindle and iPad and here are the reasons why.

1. Battery life while reading books on the Kindle
Even though the battery life on my iPad is really great it cannot keep up with my Kindle. I can get almost three weeks of battery life out of my Kindle where i get about 10 hours out of my iPad.

2. Reading books on the Kindle is not stressful on the eyes
If I read a lot i can tell when my eyes get stressed on the iPad but on the Kindle i can read for hours. It really is like reading a newspaper with the technology it has. I like having the ability to use my iPad for games and typing things (like this blog) and my Kindle for reading books.

3. My Kindle is much smaller and lighter than the iPad for holding with one hand
After using the iPad i can tell that to hold it a lot with one hand for any length of time
would be just about impossible. I love the portability of the Kindle especially with the long flights that my wife and i take to Nepal at least once a year. The profile is nice and small on the Kindle but the screen is large enough to read and there are many font options as well.

4. I am sharing my iPad with my wife
This may sound funny, but this is the first piece of technology that i am sharing with her. Not saying that is a bad thing, just a change of what i am used to. It is nice to have my Kindle if I want to read a book and my wife can. Use the iPad. I am actually proud of her for how far she has come with not only being able to use technology but really enjoying it as well.

These are just a few reasons why i am keeping my Kindle and everyone knows how awesome the iPad is now and the iPad 2 in a few months is going to be. I really feel like this was a good purchase and that i will not regret breaking the “tech commandment” of not buying a first generation of anything.