Mike Hawkins Blog

Am I doing what my Father wants me to do?

mikehawkins — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:28:12 +0000

Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing…Andy Stanley.

A friend of mine calls me ”messiah mike” because he says I have a savior mentality, that I am a rescuer. I told him he was wrong and after 4 weeks of praying about it and asking God was it true…God just showed me.

I don’t know of anyone who lived a fuller life and cared for people more than Jesus…and yes, He is the Savior…but He didn’t try to save everyone. He didn’t do what I would think would be the next or right thing to do…logically speaking. He only did and spoke what He saw and heard the Father do and say(John 8:28-29). I have to ask myself is that true of me…the answer you already know.

In the book of Mark, chapter 1:21-38, Jesus starts his Sabbath teaching in the synagogue. Those who heard his teaching were astonished…hmm does He astonish me? While teaching He cast a demon out of man, remember this was on the Sabbath (Saturday..the Jews Holy day) and the people were amazed…am I amazed by my Lord. Jesus leaves the synagogue and enters the house of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law is laid ill with a fever. Jesus healed her and she immediately began serving them. After sundown…when the Sabbath was over…all who were sick or oppressed by demons come knocking at the house where Jesus was staying. They wouldn’t come before sundown because they wouldn’t want to anger the spiritual leaders by getting healed on the Sabbath…that would mean working on the Sabbath and they wouldn’t want to take a chance of being put out of the tabernacle. So Jesus begins healing many and casting out demons, I imagine that this healing service went on late into the night, because Jesus would listen to the person’s story (i.e. Mark 5:33). Then rising early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

Simon and those with him found Jesus and said everyone is looking for you, but Jesus said, “let us go on to the next towns.” Now I would of said, lets go back and have another healing service with those who were looking for me. Jesus didn’t do what we would naturally think is the right thing to do…he went in another direction because He had been talking to the Father…asking him what He wanted. He didn’t go back into the town to help those who were searching for him…he only did what the Father told him to do.

Each day I wake up with a full schedule on my plate and I try to pray before I meet with each person that day…but my prayer is “help”…how do you want me to care for those I am about to meet. I don’t start my day off walking through my appointments. I also don’t ask God should I meet one on one with this guy…and should I meet with everyone who requests a meeting with a pastor.

In Acts 3, Peter and John heal a man who was laid daily at the the temple gate…a place Jesus passed often…yet Jesus never healed the man who he passed whenever he went into the temple, why? Well, I think it is because Jesus wanted to receive the glory by allowing Peter and John to heal the man in His name. God was given praise by using Peter and John to heal the man. Because Jesus only did what the Father told him to do. He received glory and praise by the faith that is through Him…the man’s health is made perfect.

I recently over committed to some families that were in distress. Instead of asking the Father, “what do you want me to do?’ My messiah complex kicked in and I set up weekly meeting without pursing what God wanted me to do. Logically speaking, it was a good thing and I made a commitment in which I plan to keep until I find someone who God wants to step in and take over. Yes, these people need structure and help..but was I the one who was suppose to do it or did I get in the way of what God had planned for someone else? I never asked the Father, “what do you want me to do?” I committed to helping because I saw the pain and hurt this family was going through each day. If I continue to live in this “rescue” mode, I will only become more and more overwhelmed.

Jesus invested in a few so that they could invest their lives into others who invest their lives into others…ect,ect…it’s called discipleship. He was so very intentional in what He wanted the disciples to learn, know and experience. Often I go through a book or do a Bible study with guys or couples…and they get the how-to, but I think as we teach, they need to experience so they can have questions of their own. After a time of investing in them, they need to begin investing in others…during which time, you are still meeting with them.

How many more Bible studies do we need to have before they get their hands dirty…we must allow them to live out what they are being taught. To start giving their lives away to someone and walk with them as they do it.

Jesus called us to be disciple makers (Matt. 28:19-20)…as leaders we have to disciple others so they can help their friends whose marriage is crashing down around them…or whose children are living in rebellion. There is a world of hurting people and we need to be asking the Father how we can help them, but we must begin by being intentional in discipling others.

Turning over tables and driving out the livestock

mikehawkins — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:02:14 +0000

I recently was sharing with a group of men about my problem with anger. It has taken me a half century to admit that I have an anger problem in my life. Anger is how I respond whenever I don’t get what I want…when I want it; which usually means right now. I know that if you have been like me those many years of denial, you would say that you are not an angry person as well. Don’t believe it…it’s a lie and your anger is worse than you think. As I was talking to my friends, one of them said, “It’s a natural response…cause Jesus got angry and he went crazy.” Well I knew that he was talking about how Jesus went into the temple…his Father’s house and stirred things up. So we looked at the passage of what appears to be a crazy enraged man.

The book of John chapter 2:14-17 says:

In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Jesus goes into the temple and drove out those who were making the temple a market. He whipped the sheep and oxen out of the temple, turned over the moneychangers tables and got the pigeons out of there. Before all that happened, he did something very significant…he made a whip. A friend of mine pointed this out to me many years ago. How long does it take to make a whip…maybe it was a cord of 3 strand that takes a while to weave…whatever it was, it took some time to make. Now when I get angry…I can’t wait. I usually dive right in to the tirade. Jesus, made a whip. Then he used it to drive out the livestock…no loss to the owners…where they could be collected outside of the temple. He then turned over the tables of the money changers…they would have to pick it up and leave. Then he kicked over the pigeon cages to release the birds—NOT! Jesus told them to take the birds out of the temple. Wow! Jesus really loved the temple…His Father’s house was very important to him and he didn’t like all the clutter in it. It was the place where His Father would abide.

As I was sharing that passage with the guys, the Spirit of God reminded me about a passage that I was studying with the leaders for our men’s groups. It was the passage in John 14:1-2. It says, in my Father’s house are many rooms. It is the same term used in 2:16 referring to the temple. Now when John was writing this letter to the 2nd and 3rd generation believers…the temple had been destroyed. The new house where God resided was in the hearts of His children.

So you’re probably saying, so what…what’s the point Mike. Well, Jesus is still zealous for His Father’s temple…my heart. When I allow anger… to make it’s home in my heart, Jesus has to come in and turn things upside down and run the sin out of my heart. Which is usually ugly and painful…and probably means that I’ve not only sinned against God, but against someone I love who is close to me.

So…do you need to have some tables turned over in your heart? Does the Spirit need to run the nastyness out of your heart? It starts with turning from your wrong…confessing the very sin that murdered Jesus. Then restore those you’ve wronged and ask Jesus to help you to get victory over your sin.

The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste

mikehawkins — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:11:19 +0000

Have you ever thought of how many things influence our thinking each day. The simplest things can influence our choices ever day. It could be a commercial that we’ve seen on TV or a just a spoken word. Recently I was in a Hallmark store…did they invent most of our holidays?… looking through cards and I decided to see how easy it would be to influence others in what is a “good” card or how to choose the “best” cards quickly. Most guys are easily influenced, especially around the special holidays…usually because they are always in a hurry or waiting to the last-minute. Soooooo…I decided I would just make comments like “WOW that’s a really good card” or just a comment like…”the best cards are the ones where the card slot only has a card or two left.” Sure enough, I would see them moving in my direction looking at the card I was sounding off about or I would watch them start looking for the low slots.

Now this isn’t some kind of slam about the male mind, because women were doing it too. It simply shows how a seed of thought can influence a persons decision. Sometimes when I am around a friend of mine…Chris, I will start humming or singing a song and within minutes…sometimes seconds…he will start humming or singing that very same song.

Have you ever heard someone say a negative comment about another person and you soon begin to look at that person in a very different light? I have.

How we think…what we set our mind on truly makes a difference in our daily lives. That must be why we are told as believers in Christ to think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellence and things worthy of praise. So many influences of this world wash over my thinking the exact opposite way. So what do I do to think differently. I must be INTENTIONAL!

One of the things I enjoy doing is listening to Scripture on my itouch when driving. I can listen to many of the shorter books of the Bible from my home to work…a 15 to 20 minute commute depending on traffic…it’s called mind renewal–-Romans 12:2. I might not remember every word but it begins to wash over me, filling a well of resources that the Holy Spirit will often use later in the day and have something to draw from when opportunities to put God on display come up. I have enough of the world washing over me, so I must be intentional about what I fill my mind with each moment of the day…2 Corinthians 10:5 says…take every thought captive to obey Christ.

We make time for what we “think” is important…renew your mind. Philippians would be a good book to begin mind renewal because it talks about the mind numerous times especially chapter 2.

Don’t let your mind go to waste each day.

P.S. Guys…don’t forget to go find a card today…your sweetheart will think differently of you depending on what it says and they will be too picked over by Monday.

There is no “X” in “Christ”mas…(say it like Tom Hanks says, “there’s no crying in baseball”

mikehawkins — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:26:04 +0000

For convience sake, many replace the word “Christ” in the word Christmas with an “X”. The very first time I saw it, it trulybothered me…well I saw it again today… ”xmas trees here”…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all afternoon. Why should that bother me so? Is it something that the Holy Spirit want to reveal to me about how I take Christ out of Christmas…so…I began asking Him.

Spirit of Christ reveal in my heart how I omit Christ my Savior…especially at this time of the year when it’s suppose to be all about you and the wonderful gift you gave us of yourself. As I reflect on this, I see how I am so willing to give of my time and offer a helping hand, but when it comes to money my hand isn’t always open and at time it tends to clinch tightly… I remember reading that someone once asked a famous man of prayer…George Mueller (1895-1898) how much money God has given him over the years… he said millions and millions of dollars ( a lot of money in the 1800′s). They asked him whyGod had given him so much…he said, “when he gives it to me and I ask Him what He wants me to do with it, He keeps trusting me with it. The moment I clinch my fist and keep it to myself, He stops trusting me with it.”

I have to ask myself , do I not believe that the God who provides for my every need…can provide for me if I give away money that he gives me to help others in need. I always love being used in His story of providing for other’s needs, yet at times, I’m hesitant to step out in faith…and without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). This is just one of the many ways that I live Christ out of Christmas. Merry CHRISTmas!

The Gift became huge!

mikehawkins — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:55:31 +0000

When driving by my neighbor’s house, I noticed a small wooden frame of a manger scene…in the front was a 2 foot tall frame of what a manger entrance might look like…placed two feet behind it was a cut-out of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. In front of this small little scene was a flood light shining on the stucture. Each day I drove by it would catch my eye and I might have a quick thought of the gift…Jesus, but my mind would quickly run back to the busyness of the day. A couple of nights ago as I drove by the manger scene, I couldn’t help but notice how the flood light would caste a silouette of the manger on the side of the next door neighbors house…the manger scene had now become 15-20 feet tall…as I noticed it, I asked my family did they notice the manger reflection…they didn’t…so I backed up a couple of houses and when I did, everyone was WOW’d…now every night we can’t help but see the manger scene as huge.

Each year we celebrate the birth of the baby…the Savior of the world…but does the gift get smaller and smaller each year while the stuff surrounding Christmas gets bigger and BIGGER? We have to put up more decorations, we have to go to more events (parties and pagents) and we have to buy more presents…for people who have everything and actually need nothing. We get caught up more and more with the stuff of Christmas but spend little time actually celebrating the Gift…our Savior. Do we ever spend time thinking of the great cost of this wonderful Gift. Does our heart get caught up with what it cost the Father to send His Son…knowing that His one and only Son would become the least of us…live among us to show us what the Father looks like…take on our punishment the mocking and ridicule we deserved. He would take…our whips…our lashes…our nails…our cross. He would take on His Father’s wrath…poured out on Him in our place. And we got we He deserved…we got His righteousness and His inheritance…He took on and got everything we deserved and what got everything He deserved…what an AMAZING Gift. So when you see the manger…is it small…or is it HUGE.

May God Bless You with a Huge picture of His Gift this Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Trees

mikehawkins — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:37:25 +0000

Every year we go shopping for our “real-live”…at least for a little while longer…Christmas tree, usually the day after Thanksgiving. We drive all over town and looking for the perfect tree and good price…we seem to always end up on Haywood Road @ Ron Cooley’s. The many trees we have bought from Ron over the years have been freshly cut and hold up until the end of the year. This year we were in Maryland for Thanksgiving visiting Lindz and Jas…we had a great time…so we made the annual tree trip with them on Friday. It was a cold blustery day…it really was…I probably would have used that phrase anyway, because I just like the way it sounds in Montgomery county Maryland…which tried to kill our tradition…they don’t allow Christmas tree sales until 12/1…sooooo…we had to go to the next county over, but we had “success” @ Home Depot. As Lauren walked into the garden area at HD and she spotted the perfect tree and Jas fell in love with it…he wouldn’t even leave its side while we perused the other trees, but in the end, we came back to his tree. It was he and Lindz’ 1st tree and Jas loved it even more when he found out the price…he’s one of those accounting type guys…you know the kind…he budgets, budgets…but I just love him. So after the photo opt we took it back to the other county and set it up in their home to be decorated after we head back to the homeland…SC.

The day after we arrived home, we sought out for our own Christmas tree…as we brought home the perfect tree from our tree excursion…just the 3 of us…it hit me…I’ve gone all afternoon looking to find that perfect tree and a good price, but seemed to forget what Christmas was all about. Sure, I was kind and polite to all who helped and served me…not being a Scrooge of course, but not once did I point anyone to the Savior. What a great opportunity to talk to others about the Gospel Story…yet I’ve missed two wonderful chances to point others to the real reason for the season…Jesus Christ. The tree was proclaiming Him louder than me (Romans 1:19;ps. 19)…the one He Rescued. The tree points to heaven…it’s evergreen…just like He is everlasting…and it was on a tree where He gave His life for me, He got what I deserved and I get what He deserves, His righteouness…the family coat…I’m always too busy living in my story and time after time I miss opportunities to live in His story.

A friend mine has reminded me the last couple of weeks about giving a gift away each day and asking the Spirit of Christ to prompt my heart when opportunities avail themselves…I loved doing it over these past 8 days. They are just simple gifts. Things like buying a meal for someone at a restaurant or coffee shoppe, helping at a soup kitchen, or going through my packed closet to give to those in need…it could be as simple as giving an encouraging word to the boss of someone who serves you…rarely do they hear the good things of their employees…you could take some soup to a friend or neighbor who is sick with the season yuck…or just write a note to affirm something encouraging to someone you know. There are so many things we could do…if we just truly looked and opened our eyes to the Spirits leading.

Yes, this is how I think we can make a difference this Christmas…let’s put our Savior on display…Whoa hoo…Thank you Jesus for giving up everything for me!

Living in Jesus’ normal at Costco…

mikehawkins — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:21:42 +0000

A couple of weekends ago when I looking for tires for my wife, we wondered in to Costco to pick up some items for our Community group meeting that weekend. While Jane was visiting with a friend I did a price check in the tire center and talked with a guy I’ll call “O”. The next morning I woke early to spend time with the Father to pray throught my day and to look at all my appointments with His lens. I didn’t know what that would look like but I realized that if Jesus was constantly only doing what He saw the Father do…what would that look like for me. It began with me asking Him where I needed to purchase tires for Jane car and I kept hearing for me to go to Costco and take a bag of about 25 shirts given to me by a friend…Todd. The shirts were from his brother and really nice…but I tried them on and they were actually too BIG for me…imagine that. After spending time reading and listening in Mark 1 and Colossians with my Bible and Ipod, I just sat and listened…which is very hard for me to do… the next thing that happened was actually hearing…and it was very clear…take shirts to Costco and give to “O” and buy your tires there…and here is what happened…As I got to Costco, they were just opening and I was 4th in line in the tire center. As I was waiting, and older man came up behind me and was very rude and impatient…actually complaining because they opened 5 minutes early. He continually complained for the next 15 minutes and I tried to change the conversation and say something positive about the situation…but nothing seemed to help and everyone in line and the guy waiting on us heard his unkindness…hmm, wonder how often I do that. Just as I finished paying for my tires, God strongly impressed on my heart to let this man go first, but I was thinking no way, he deserves to wait…I’m glad God doesn’t give me what I deserve…so I told the young man behind the counter to let this man go before me…I felt if I didn’t, I would be disobeying /at that moment. The man thanked me and the employee looked at me like “are you crazy”…often I am. As I took my book “The Praying Life” by Paul Miller and went to one of there many tables in there food area, a friend whose kids grew up with ours stopped to say hello. The next thing I know she is sharing a lot of heartache and stuff her family had been going through including her husband being with out a job for a while and numerous family difficulties…a shared numerous passages from God’s Word and asked to pray for their family and the numerous situations that were going on with them. As I prayed, I asked God to give me an opportunity to talk to the man I let go before me. When we finished praying, standing next to us was this man. He said to this friend…this guy’s a nice guy…she agreed…I said some times. He said, he let me in front of Him…I told him that God told me to let you go before me…we then had a short discussion about that “God” thing and what did I mean by that. As they were both leaving, “O” was walking toward me. I told him about the shirts I had and he said that they were his size. I told him that God had told me this morning to come to Costco and give him the shirts that Todd had given me and to buy my tires there. He said, God told you to do this? I said it was very clear to me and that the shirts were a gift from Him…I’ll get them when my car is done. Immediately after he walked off I opened my book only to have a man named Ray ask me what I was reading…I’m thinking, WOW God, what next. I told him about the book and that I was trying to learn how to talk and listen to God better and that this book was a great help. After a few minutes of discussion about prayer in his life, he started sharing how busy he was and that he was ready for retirement and that he was very concerned about his kids and grand kids…30 minutes later as he was walking away, I received a twitter from my daughter’s pastor…Josh Harris…in Maryland @ Cove Life and he sent me a quote from the book I was reading that said, “learning to pray doesn’t offer you a less busy life; it offers you a less busy heart”…I yelled for Ray and asked him if I could show him what I just received and I told him I think this tweet was actually for him. After reading it he said WOW…what was the name of that book again. He emailed me later to tell me he bought it. After sending out a tweet of my own, I got a call to say my car was ready. When I was picking up my keys, the guy handed me some cash and I asked what it was for…he said that the man who was so rude and unkind this morning that I let in front of me came back and apologized for his rude behavior and said he was sorry for the way he acted…the employee said it made his day and that he doesn’t know what I said to him but that he just wanted to thank me… I told him God impressed on my heart to do it and that I would be disobeying if I didn’t…he said, well I just want to pay it forward…thank you. As I went to get in my car, guess who just parked a car right next to me…”O”…he had just finished a car and I gave him the bag of shirts.
I thought that was it when I got home, but when I finally read the chapter in my book and it said how much turmoil and pain that Jesus was in when contemplating the terror of the cross and be separated from His Father…He had never experienced a moment when he wasn’t in communion with his Father…it then said…this was for me…Jesus’ anguish is our normal.
In other words, we live most of our days never asking the Father about our many appointments each day…like we don’t need Him and we can do this on our own…Jesus only did what he saw the Father do…for 2 1/2 hours that Saturday, I got to have a small glimpse of what it meant to live like Jesus…in complete reliance on my Father.
What an awesome privilege to be an instrument blown by the Holy Spirit for the Glory of God!

Marriage

mikehawkins — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:20:48 +0000

Your view of who God is will reflect how you view your relationship with your spouse and kids. Looking, listening and thinking of others with a Gospel centered heart…a heart like our Father…will bring great richness and humility into all your relationships.

Prayer

mikehawkins — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:13:19 +0000

I have 9 guys from my church who are in the jungles of Panama hiking and camping from village to village share the light of the world…Jesus…in a very dark place. Please pray for their safety and their interpreters can make clear the message they share and that they will have strength and listen and look with a Spirit filled heart. Also, pray for their families while they are away.