Greater Things with T.J. McCormick

Shayla and I have finally finished moving in at our new home in Ft. Lauderdale.  What an event moving is!  You never really realize how much stuff you acquire in life until you move from your primary residence.  I know that we found things that we could not believe that we have kept all of these years.  We would pull stuff out and be like “Why did we keep this?  Or I thought we threw this away the last time we moved” but yet we still had this stuff, or should I say junk.

Isn’t our life the same way?  We think that we got rid of something, be it pain, unforgiveness or a memory but there it pops up again in our life.  It has this ability to attach itself to us and we can never seem to get rid of it.  It pops up at the most inconvienient times and rears its ugly head.  I know that for me the thing that always seems to creep into my life is FEAR.  It seems like I get rid of it all of the time but as I start moving forward in my life it pops back up and says “You can’t do that, your going to fail or your not good enough” and before long I am buying back into the bill of goods that fear has sold me.  But here is the thing, the Bible tells us that we don’t have to live with a spirit of fear.  It tells us that we can get rid of the junk in our lives, we don’t have to keep bringing it with us from place to place, and not only can we get rid of it but we can go shopping for some new things called POWER, LOVE and a SOUND MIND.  I don’t know about you but I could use some more of God’s power in my life to overcome sin, temptation and fear; love to have an intimate relationship with God and to reach others; and finally a sound mind so that I don’t have to keep reverting back to the stinking thinking that I typically have.

It is time for you and I to have a moving day in our life with Jesus where He cleans out the garbage of our life and allows himself to take up rule and reign in place of the stuff that we use to have at the top of the food chain in our life.  He wants to take control and give us everything we need to be successful on the journey of life, but he has to be in charge of the packing.  Lets choose to allow him to pack and unpack the things in our life.

I cannot get this out of my head so I guess that I am suppose to talk about it.  While in D.C. I got to see the Lincoln Memorial.  I am a huge fan of Lincoln and think that he had one of the greatest impacts on our country that any president has had.  While walking up the steps to get to the actual memorial I turned around to look out at the beauty and splendor of our nations capital.  I thought about the legacy of Lincoln and how he was willing to stand up against his fellow countrymen because of his “Holy Discontent” for slavery.  He was no longer able to stand the thought of people enslaving one another because of the color of their skin.

When I turned around, I happened to look down at the spot below me.  It was the very spot where Martin Luther King Jr. had stood and made his “I have a dream” speech.  I was in awe.  I was in the very place where one man was willing to say “enough is enough.”

It takes amazing courage to stand up for something, to step out and make a statement.  What is the thing that you want to stand up for that you haven’t made a stand on yet?  The thing that struck me about both of these men is that they were not just going to live for the moment but that they were willing to take a stand and now they live affecting others for a lifetime.

I believe that you and I must make a stand for whatever that thing is in life that you just can’t stand to see happen any longer.  Whether it be children dying of aids in Africa, food for the poor, homelessness in your community, child slavery, prostitution, human trafficing, or people not knowing Jesus, whatever it is, let’s not stay content but let’s become discontent with the situation and make a stand.

For Shayla and I, that stand is for those who are unchurched, uncommitted and undecided of Ft. Lauderdale and help them to become fully devoted followers of Christ.  We are committing our lives to loving and reaching those people.  We are moving this upcoming Friday, May 15th so that we can make our stand for Christ and those who do not yet know him.

What is your stand?

I was in Washington D.C. this past week.  While I was there I got the opportunity to walk around and see some of the sites of the city.  One that really caught my attention was the Washington Monument.

I was reminded of how in Old Testament times that when God would do something significant in someones life they would build an altar there at that place to remind them of what took place.  The Washington Monument signifies what our first president George Washington meant to our country.  He was the general of the revolutionary army who led his troops in battle to victory over the British rule of the American people.  So in honor of his courage and leadership they constructed this monument to document and remember his legacy.  So many times we go through life and forget to honor those who have done significant things to help us have the things we have today.

I was thinking of a man who paved the way for me to really learn what ministry was all about.  He saw in me what no one including myself could see at the time, potential.  He was willing to help me work through my past, live in the now and fulfill my future.  He provided opportunities for me to grow immensely as well as allowing me to step out and fail.  I will always be grateful to him for helping me grow into the man I am today.  I am grateful for the being a spiritual son to a great pastor and friend, Randy Bezet of Bayside Community Church in Bradenton, Florida.

I wanted to be able to give honor where honor is due and Randy is definitely a man who deserves a ton of credit for my success in life.  I appreciate his willingness to take a chance on a young kid when everyone else had given up, to step out and believe that greater things were still to come in my life.  Thank you Randy Bezet for helping me to see and realize my potential to plant a church in Ft. Lauderdale and for believing in me.  I will do the thing you told me to do that would be the most honoring thing to you, “I will help build a great church that changes lives in Ft. Lauderdale.”

Who is someone you should honor that has been a part of your life.  Maybe it is a mom, dad, brother, professor, or boss but whoever it is for you I want to challenge you to express your gratitude for their contribution to your life.

Have you ever just had one of those “Ah Ha” moments when you are reading your Bible?  I was reading in the Book of Acts today and in chapter 18:9-10 the Lord spoke to Paul:

“Don’t be afraid!  Speak out!  Don’t be silent!  For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.”

I read this verse and was just blown away.  I was having one of those days where I was like “I am so afraid of stepping out and planting this church, is anyone going to want to be a part of this, and are people really open to the gospel of Christ?” Then God shows up.  I find myself so many times listening to my fears instead of listening to my God.

Why do we do that?  We get so caught up in our thoughts that we lose sight of vision and plan that God planted in our heart.  God is continually telling me to not be afraid, see fear is something that is based out of my strength and not God’s power.  I start looking to myself instead of relying on him and thinking this is something I have to do.  Not only do I not have to be afraid but at the same point I have to speak out.  I know that for me it is hard to step up and step out.  God called me to be a voice for my generation so that they can know him.  If I am silent then they miss out.  It says there in the verse that many people belong to him.  I want them all to belong to him but if you and I don’t speak out they will miss out.

What are you listening to, your fears or your God?