Wow, I just realized I haven’t posted anything in almost a month. If you recall I pulled my calf muscle and put my workout on standby. Well, I changed to a different shift and work later in the evenings now, so getting up and motivated is a challenge.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago I had to mow the lawn, but really wasn’t in the mood. I put it off all morning, even drank a whole pot of coffee before finally getting off my butt around 11:30am to tackle the lawn. Well, by that time the temp was already 102 with 100% humidity. I had to go to work so urgency began to consume me. In addition I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to do manual labor. I knocked it out, but I have never felt so bad in my life after lawn work like I did this day. I attempted to replenish the fluids I had lost, but it only put my body in even more shock. I took a shower, tried to relax and continue with the fluids; however, I just got worse as the day went on. I headed to work with the AC on full blast, and attempted to be a trooper, but I just felt like CRAP. Yes, I said CRAP! Sometimes we just got to tell it like it is and stop being so, so, so you know.

Today, I had to do the tedious lawn chore once again. However, this time my age and wisdom prevailed over my stubborn, prideful and procrastinating nature. I didn’t have any coffee, but drank water before hand. I started at 8:30am while it was still a little cool and I took my time. Needless to say, the lawn looks beautiful, in spite of the dead patches from lack of rain, and I am feeling pretty good.

Here is the nugget of truth. There is a price to procrastination. When we allow our human nature to take control we put ourselves in a very dangerous place. God has given us wisdom and He expects us to apply it. When we exercise His wisdom over our lives, we position our self for success. Without it, we are sure to fail. I know none of you have ever had a “Moment of Stupid” over take you, but this is my “Burnt Flesh” moment.

The smell of “Burnt Flesh” is the only thing that pleases God. It is our will aligning with His, and He gets all the praise, honor and glory. Have you “Burnt Flesh” today?

This has been a pretty rough week for me. I hindered my workout progress by being stupid; refer to “Bend before you BREAK!”. As a result, I have been nursing an injured calf muscle. Needless to say, I haven’t been able to really beat my body into submission like I hoped. I am not where I thought I would be in my workout regiment. I am unhappy, unfulfilled and unmotivated. Listen to me…”I, I, I”!

I realize the issue “I” still have in life is “ME”. I strive to live like a dead man, but somehow he resurrects himself to pursue his will and agenda. You know what you call a dead man that comes back to life unnaturally…a zombie. Zombies are good for nothing. They are self serving and feed off the life of others. They are destructive, have no purpose and become a perversion of the life/death process.

Think of it this way, if we die to Christ and live, but are not living according to His will, His purpose and His glory, we are nothing more than spiritual zombies. Again, I am not referring to moral failure or sin, as much as I am speaking of walking in the fullness of ALL He has for us. Even if it means being where we don’t want to be; enduring pain, hardships and struggles that we didn’t provoke; or knowing, anticipating and expecting His awesomeness at every turn only to find out it’s been delayed again and again.

One of my favorite verses in the bible is Hebrews 13:6, “So we confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” The word helper means, one who provides the remedy, solution or provision. What is there to fear? All fear stems from the fear of death. If I am already dead, then I have absolutely NO FEAR in my life. Who is man? He is not my judge, provider or deliverer; therefore, I have no concern for man’s concern of me. Then the issue remains “ME”.

This week God reminded me of the characteristics of a dead man, which I have been earnestly attempting to deploy. To truly die to Christ and live our life as a “DEAD MAN”, we must embrace these 3 attributes:

1. Dead men DON’T MOVE. They are always still. They don’t wiggle, squirm or get uncomfortable.
2. Dead men have no choice, but LISTEN. They can’t turn away or cover their ears.
3. DEAD MEN DON’T TALK BACK!

I’m sure there will be subsequent parts to this topic, but for now, this is my “Burnt Flesh” experience of the week. The smell of “Burnt Flesh” is the only thing that pleases God. It is our will aligning with His, and He gets all the praise, honor and glory. Have you “Burnt Flesh” today?

This morning, while I was enduring each and every painful step of my 2 mile run, a revelation came to me. The indulgences of meat, cheese, crackers, fruit, cake, muffins, punch and pizza from the weekend were coming back to haunt my workout. They inflicted severe “flesh pain” on me. We don’t realize that the actions of a single day or weekend have an affect on our commitment to subdue our body.

Let’s put this in an even graver context. How much pain do our actions Monday through Saturday inflict on our spirituality? We expect God to show up and bless us each and every Sunday morning; however, we spent the last 6 days living like the evilness we truly are. Nothing is hidden from God, yet we act like nothing happened when we come, or attempt to come, into His presence. Do we realize that we are given 6 days to labor, not for our self, but for Him?

What we do, or do not do for the Kingdom in these 6 days will reflect our worship on Sunday morning. These 6 days are for us to live, share and advance Christ is all facets of our lives, so when we convene on Sundays, we have something to celebrate. This is the day we rejoice, praise and honor God for His greatness, His glory and our salvation. When we indulge our self in life’s pleasures at the expense of the gospel, our Sunday morning worship will feel it.

What will you do for the Kingdom this week? Will you indulge in your will, or will you serve in His? Regardless, we will reap the consequence of our 6 days this coming Sunday. Will the wages of your labor this week be LIFE, or DEATH? If you live for you, you will surely DIE; however, if you deny and die to your self and live for Him, you will LIVE. What will you choose?

The smell of “Burnt Flesh” is the only thing that pleases God. It is our will aligning with His, and He gets all the praise, honor and glory. Have you “Burnt Flesh” today?