by Lance Cashion | Mar 8, 2018 | Culture, Encouragement, God, Jesus Christ, Leadership, Personal Growth, Spiritual Life, Wisdom |
In his book on leadership Lieutenant General Hal Moore said,
“In the game of baseball, three strikes and you’re out. Not so in the game of life. Three strikes and you’re NOT out.”
I can tell you from personal experience that “failure” properly understood is a set up for a comeback. When we fail, we tend to give up. But, is “giving up” the right thing to do when we strike out?
You only strike out when you decide to give up on yourself.
15 years ago, I gave up on myself. I was at the end of my rope after living a selfish and self-destructive life. I had decided that I had struck out, my life was over. Years prior to meeting my wife, I had been a willing participant in the abortion of my own child. I was a liar, used people and I turned to drugs and alcohol to sandbag the shame and pain. I was one step away from quitting. I believed the only way out of my despicable life – was death.
I believed that everyone had given up on me, I was living a lie, I had nothing good to offer and I had given up on myself. It was over – I could hear the umpire shouting, “Strike three, you’re out!”
Early one morning in 2003, I had descended into the darkest moment in my life. I saw death as the only way out. However, in a blink of an eye, I was reminded that someone very important had not given up on me.
God – He hadn’t given up on me. In fact, he loved me and could transform the destruction and chaos of my life for good. In the midst of darkness there was a point of pure light – that light was hope. And like a lifeline from heaven, I held fast to that tiny glimmer of hope and God pulled me out of the dark tempest and set my feet on solid ground.
God reminded me that I was far from being out of the game. He gave me more hope. I could be forgiven. I could be used by God. A murderer could be transformed into a missionary.
“Three strikes and you are NOT out!”
15 years later, I have learned to boldly step up to the plate and swing for the fences because I am a redeemed and restored child of God. He loves me and wants me in the game. Why else would he send his only son to die for a wretch like me?
John 21 is my favorite chapter in the entire Bible. Previously, Peter had denied Christ three times before his crucifixion. Peter believed he had struck out as a failure. This wasn’t true. The risen Christ called Peter to himself and restored him and affirmed him. He put him on mission. “Three strikes and you’re NOT out Peter … Follow me.” And Peter did and we can too. Peter’s failure was a set up for a historical comeback!
What does this mean?
It means It’s not too late. Jesus Christ invites us into a personal relationship with him that has NOTHING to do with our past, present or future performance. In the final analysis, It has everything to do with accepting his grace gift, trusting him and following him. When you blow it in life, remember three strikes and you’re NOT out.
- How do you feel about people who have failed, including yourself?
- How do you think God feels about people who fail? The Bible is full of human heroes who failed.
- Do you desire to get up to bat and take a few swings?
In closing, I want you to take some swings and so does God. He is the God of second, third and forth chances.
Forget what the world and culture say about failure. God will not be mocked. Ask Jesus into your life. Trust what he did for you on the cross. Believe that he can transform and renew you. He will enable you to swing for the fences in his game for his glory.
God has a plan and a purpose for your life no matter how you have failed. Get off the bench and get into the batter’s box and take a swing for God’s sake!
Want to watch a message by one of our team on this subject?
Link: “It’s not too late” – Dr. Cody McQueen
Read previous post: A message for men that you don’t want to hear
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by Lance Cashion | Mar 1, 2018 | Culture, Education, Encouragement, Fatherhood, Lance's Philosophy, Leadership, Personal Growth, Philosophy, Relationships, Triathlon, Wisdom, Worldview |
Note: I’ll be the first to admit my own responsibility for being a part of the problem in the past. I’m lovingly, yet sternly challenging you to read and consider what I am saying.
Boys are crying out for help!
Over the last 50 years, our moral revolution has attacked the sanctity of human life, destroyed the family and diminished the father’s role in society. So, males are nothing more than animals that have sex at will with whomever they want, pursue immediate gratification and comfort, relish violence and affluence, then move on like a swam of locusts.
Today boys, as young as 8 years old are immersed in pornography, addicted to violent games/movies and have ZERO respect for human life. As a result, girls (and other boys) are objects for personal gratification. Their parents exist to feed and pamper them.
Our boys need to be rescued from this toxic culture. Men who have abandoned their responsibilities need to repent and be restored. Admit it, we need to help each other.
No matter how you slice it – Males hold all the cards.
We are paying the price for the “moral revolution“. This revolution is rooted in nothing more than personal immediate gratification (of males – primarily). It says,
“I want what I want and I want it NOW… And I will use the veil of reproductive rights, feminism, sexual freedom, personal autonomy, marriage, coercion and political volition to achieve my personal gratification – be it comfort, affluence, power or orgasm.”
Our children are paying dearly with their lives. Make no mistake, “if it feels good, do it” culture carries a high cost.
“A poor sailor blames the wind.”
It is no accident that adult males are molesting minors and demeaning women, abusing children, stealing, doing drugs, lying under oath, murdering, and going to jail at high rates. We raise our boys according to the rules of the moral revolution.
When boys grow up infused with the ‘values’ of the revolution, then act on those impulses – the moral revolutionaries make an ‘out-cry’ and blame everyone except themselves. A worldview that blames systems and institutions for society’s problems rejects personal responsibility and accountability. The moral revolutionaries will deny this and shift blame to something else.
How about raising boys who know what it means to be authentic men?
A man does not give into passivity, he takes responsibility for his own actions, he practices personal accountability and integrity, he is humble, just, kind, self-disciplined, leads courageously and focuses on a cause greater than himself. A man is the voice for the voiceless, a protector of the weak and a provider.
Stop raising boys and Start raising men!
Stop the cycle of blame. In order to raise men of honor and integrity, we must look ourselves in the mirror and ask how we are going to help raise authentic men. It is a heart issue. Boys are crying out for help. Let’s help them by modeling manhood for them by teaching and challenging them to become the courageous men they are created to be.
Ignore the screaming of the moral revolutionaries – they will never stop screaming. That is what they do – they rage against everything. They will not stop raging until they destroy everything – including themselves. I’m not sorry for pushing back against the dangerous worldview driving the ‘moral revolution’. As a matter of fact, I’m going to challenge it with extreme moral force. The moral revolutionaries’ worldview is marked by childish immaturity.
Dave Ramsey once said,
“We all have a red-faced screaming child inside us. That child’s name is ‘Immaturity’.”
It’s not too late.
Our future depends on our personal accountability today.
- How am ‘I’ going to raise my son to be man?
- How can ‘I’ support the fatherless who have no role model?
Read previous post: A post you are too lazy to read on DISCIPLINE
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by Lance Cashion | Feb 26, 2018 | Culture, Current Affairs, Discipline, Encouragement, Leadership, Personal Growth, Wisdom |
I don’t expect anyone to read this. Therefore, I’m writing this to myself because I need to hear it. It is a hard truth.
If I have discipline about what I eat and how much I exercise I feel good, think clearly and I have the freedom to participate in a variety of activities in life. So, if I lack discipline in what I eat and how much I exercise I feel bad, I lack energy and I eventually fall into the tyranny of health problems. I no longer have the freedom to participate in the robust activities of life. Laziness put limits on freedom. This is self-inflicted tyranny.
A Word on Discipline:
The word ‘discipline’ carries a negative connotation in modern western culture today. It evokes constraint and goes against our perception of personal autonomy. Therefore, we have come to believe that discipline is somehow the enemy of our freedoms and rights to live however we want.
What a load of tripe!
Don’t confuse punishment or the enforcement of obedience with practicing self-control and training in moral character.
Modern America is a nation marked by self-centeredness, immaturity, blame, victimhood, permissiveness and sanctioned negligence. Make no mistake, this is what we have become and it’s a problem. If we do not solve it, our culture will crumble and something worse will replace it.
Today, when something negative happens, we collectively point fingers. We blame each other instead of taking ownership and personal responsibility.
BTW, Social Media and #Hashtags exacerbate the problem because we are foolish and lazy enough to believe that just because we vented our blame and victimhood online, we have actually done something to solve the problem.
[Again] What a load of tripe! Nothing but lazy, lazy, lazy.
In his book, “Reveries on the Art of War”, Maurice de Saxe said;
“As soon as discipline is neglected in a nation … as soon as comfort becomes an aim, it needs no inspiration to foretell that ruin is near.”
De Saxe wrote this in the 1700s. It has been true throughout history.
A Lesson from History
The ancient Roman Empire didn’t fall as a result of being beaten by a powerful army. It ‘fell’ because the Roman citizens as a whole became lazy and comfort-driven on an individual level. Their morals and unity crumbled because they lacked personal discipline. Consequently, they did not have the moral fortitude to push back or mount a volitional response to the degradation happening around them. As a result, the mighty Roman Empire’s hubris, laziness and lack of discipline stands as history lesson of why the mighty fall.
Discipline begins with ‘Me’:
Discipline is a good thing. Without it, individuals, families, communities and societies crumble.
Discipline starts with ‘me’. I cannot expect my family, friends and fellow Americans to practice discipline without me.
Discipline is all about self-control, training in moral character and behavior.
Discipline brings freedom and good things into our lives. Freedom without discipline is anarchy and chaos – which will lead to tyranny.
The question is: What can I do today to practice discipline and personal responsibility?
“He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.”
(Proverbs 5:23)
Read previous post: Film – Saved by the Storm
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by Lance Cashion | Feb 20, 2018 | Adventures, Encouragement, God, Mission Trips, Personal Growth, Video
When the storms come, we often ask “Where is God?”
“Save by the Storm” is a short documentary about one man’s redemption in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, a Category 4 storm that devastated the Texas Coast in August 2017.
Background:
I serve as the Local Outreach Pastor at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth. When Hurricane Harvey hit the coast, I activated our Disaster Relief Ministry and we deployed within days of landfall. God connected us to a small church in Aransas Pass. Our philosophy of ministry was to serve and support local churches in the disaster zone. We landed at the doorstep of First Christian Church of Aransas Pass. Little did we know God was forging a bond between two church communities hundreds of miles apart. We got to take part in God’s work in Aransas Pass.
On September 9th 2017, we met Tony. This is his story …
Credits:
Filmed and Directed by Lance Cashion
Creative Director – Lilly Cashion
Music: “You Hold All Things Together” courtesy of Christ Chapel Music
Special Thanks to:
Shawn and Sarah McCormick
Dr. Bill Runyon
Pastor David Dear
Charlotte Dear
Ron and Julie Watson
Tony White
Jason Ramsey
First Christian Church Aransas Pass
Volunteers, donors and prayer warriors from Christ Chapel Bible Church – Fort Worth, TX
Global Missions Ministry for allowing us to include this film in M28 Film Festival
Local Outreach Team – Wes Toland and Kyle Yarborough
IronCenturion
For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:13
Read previous post: Two Characteristics of Good Leadership
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by Lance Cashion | Jan 16, 2018 | Devotional, Encouragement, God, Jesus Christ, Personal Growth, Relationships, Spiritual Life, Theology, Wisdom
The following originated from an email I sent to my fellow team members at Christ Chapel on January 8, 2018.
Good morning team,
On December 31st, I set about my morning bible reading asking the Lord to give me a passage of scripture for the new year. Up to this point, I had been journeying through the Psalms. At eventide of 2017, my foot set upon the golden shores of Psalm 16.
As I considered the entirety of this magnificent passage, I discovered a treasure I could hold in my heart at dawn of a new year…
“In your presence there is fullness of JOY.” (Psalm 16:11)
Unbeknownst to me, Pastor Ted Kitchens would announce on Sunday that the staff’s “theme” for 2018 would be ‘JOY’!
I too thirst for Joy! We all do. It’s been tough and trying year for many of us, and the only prescription is more Joy!
As I studied Psalm 16 again today, I couldn’t help but reflect on Jesus’s words in John 15: 1-11 (the True Vine). I encourage you to set both passages side by side and ponder them. One can’t help but be awe struck by how God has woven his word together. So, I pulled a couple threads I hope will encourage your heart as we embark on our voyage this new year.
Where do we begin?
Begin with the end in mind: Joy!
“in your presence there is fullness of Joy….” – Psalm 16
“that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full (or complete).” – John 15
How do we find this ‘Joy’?
Set the Lord before and abide in Him – the Vine
“I have set the Lord always before me…” – Psalm 16
“Abide in me (Christ)….” – John 15
By intentionally yielding our will in humble obedience, we enthrone Christ in our hearts to rule and reign. In turn, we yield fruit (which brings the believer Joy to the Father’s delight!). We are running to our Father shouting, “Father, father, look! Look at this beautiful fruit that you planted in my garden!” And the delight of the Father’s smile begets Joy in the hearts of his beloved children.
Can we find Joy apart from Christ?
The answer is ‘no’.
“I have no good apart from you.” – Psalm 16
“apart from me (Christ), you can do nothing” – John 15
So, Where do we end?
End with the beginning in mind: Joy!
Everyday – “I say to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord’… in your presence there is fullness of JOY!” (Psalm 16)
Who’s Joy?
His Joy… our fullness of Joy!
Read previous post: Pondering Glory – For on this world the Creator has stood
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by Lance Cashion | Dec 18, 2017 | Encouragement, God, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Life, Theology, Wisdom |
Originally posted in December 2016
I have been reading Charles H. Spurgeon’s (1834-1892) collection ‘Christ’s Glorious Achievements’. Last night I awoke around 2am unable to sleep. So, I quietly made my way to my study and decided to read a few pages of Spurgeon’s book. My hope was that I would become sleepy again and wonder back to bed. I eventually did. But it was not until God put an impression on my heart and mind that I wanted to share with you.
I won’t go into details but 2016 has been a trying year for me. It has been a year of transformation and refining. As I wrote a few days ago, there has been grief around the passing of my father. Thank you for your love and support.
Today, I want to shift the gears from Grief to Glory.
My prayer for this Christmas is for the Lord to deepen the meaning and allow me and my family to experience His presence in a special way.
Below are two verses I’ve pondered many times in the past. However, this morning, I have treasured them in my heart. And now, I hold them out for your consideration.
“And, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14a)
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
The first verse states the Incarnation of Christ, Immanuel – God with us. The second verse states His mission then and now.
Consider the words of Spurgeon:
“You have often thought of it, but have you ever worked your mind into the very heart of it – that God has actually visited the world in human form – that he before angels bow has actually been here, in fashion like ourselves, feeding the hungry crowds of Palestine, healing their sick, and raising their dead?
I know not what may be the peculiar boast of other planets, but this poor star cannot be excelled, for on this world the Creator has stood. The earth has been trodden by the feet of God, and yet it was not crushed beneath the mighty burden, because he deigned to link his Deity with our humanity.
The incarnation is a wonder of wonders, but it does not belong to the realm of the imagination, or even expectation, for it has actually been beheld by mortal eyes…
From Bethlehem to Calvary he has traversed life’s pilgrimage. Thirty years of more yonder canopy of sky hung above the head of Deity in human form… for a thousand joys lie close compacted in the word ‘Immanuel’ – God with us, ‘The son of man is come.’”
Now imagine the power and humility involved with such an act of grace. Would you trade your home, comforts and lifestyle to be born into a shanty town to a poor family – from a people ridiculed by the world only to die for those who hurled insults at you? I wouldn’t.
Christ is come and Christ remains. Why?
To seek and save the LOST.
Spurgeon said, “Proud men do not like us the preach this truth.” I completely agree with him as a man of former pride in being lost. Are you too proud to consider yourself as ‘lost’? By ‘Lost’ I mean the depraved condition of your being, your thought patterns, your selfish motives, habits and addictions, secret envy and hatred toward good – maybe you attempt to exist under a shiny veneer of ‘imaginary holiness’ or comparison to others who overtly behave worse than you. Only God’s spirit can make you understand you are in fact ‘lost’. Otherwise, we all continue being lost in our lostness and without hope. We are like blind men grappling in darkness on the edge of the abyss we refuse to acknowledge exists.
But, think of it. “God with us.” God is come in the humble form of an infant babe whose mission in life and death is to seek and save the lost. Our finite minds cannot fathom the depths of this grace. But, dead men see the light and He makes them live. Everyday for 2000 years, the lost have been found. As the Lamb of God trods the pathways of time, do you feel the earth tremble beneath His glorious steps?
For on this world the Creator has stood… “and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
No human could possibly contrive such a revelation of a personal God condescending to his creation to save it, thus revealing his ultimate Glory.
Merry Christmas!
Read previous post: Blurry Lights – Grief and the Holidays
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