iPod Sync

"Sync"-ed

I have an iPod Nano.  On it is uploaded a series of songs, a playlist I listen to when I run, a series of podcasts, everything from Ravi Zacharias, to "Things I Missed In History Class," and a number of messages from a pastors' conference at Moody Bible Institute.  On numerous long drives I've enjoyed the company of my I-pod.  It is always attached to my arm when I am running, whether in a 5k or just taking a trip through the neighborhood.

The other day it hit me how much I was learning from my iPod.  I'm not referring to what I'm learning from all the authors, speakers and sermons.  I'm not referring to the lyrics of some of the incredible worship music.  My iPod has been teaching me in a different way.  I've been learning from how it works.  Not the electronics (though I have had to change the battery), but from how it keeps itself up to date.

Most times when I need to recharge my iPod, I plug it into my laptop.  As soon as I do, iTunes pops up, connects to my iPod, and automatically does a sync.  "Sync" is short for synchronize. When you sync a device, you synchronize it with data on your computer. It updates both the device and the computer with the most recent information.  Data is merged in a real time interface.  If a message or song has been added to my computer, it gets updated to my iPod.  Podcasts that have been listened to on the Nano are removed.  The only time this fails is if I break the connection before the sync is completed.  My iPod even warns me not to do this.  It flashes a message "sync in progress, do not disconnect."

There's the lesson.  Huge isn't it?  The perfect example of what it means to connect with God occurs every time I recharge my iPod. 

I want to be in sync with what God wants to instill into my life and to have what is of no use removed.  Every time I connect with God I should expect that he is going to be uploading new messages for me, but he is also seeking to remove other things.  My iPod teaches me that there are two ways to goof up the process of hearing from God.  First, I can neglect connecting, never getting recharged, never receiving updated messages from God.  The second is to break the connection before the sync is complete, not allowing God to do what he wants to do in my heart and my life that day.

When I see my iPod it reminds me to be sure I'm getting connected and letting the sync take place. 

How's your sync?  Up to date?  Current? Recharged?

The man in the window

 

Bruce D. Rzengota
Norwalk Alliance Church

Prayer is not preparation for the battle, it is the battle.

Questions?

Every leader asks questions. The nature of the questions shapes the leader. What are the questions contemplated in your heart? At this point in my life, in my calling, in my role, I've been struggling with a few. The same ones keep surfacing time and time again. The first one opens the door to so many more.

What does it mean?

What does it mean to want God's glory and not your own?

What does it mean to be all things to all men and yet work only to please the Lord?

What does it mean to be LIGHT when most of the time I avoid the darkness?

What does it mean?

What does it mean if I drive by a funeral and don't wonder about the person's fate?

What does it mean when I count my days and know there are more behind me than are likely to be ahead of me?

What does it mean when I remember that one day I will stand in his presence and give an account?

What does it mean?

What does it mean that I have claimed his name, read his word, shared his truth for thirty-two years and yet still battle with sin, toy with apathy, and get distracted so easily.

What does it mean?

What does it mean that I have been cleaned by grace, set free from sin, empowered with gifts, called to purpose?

What does it mean that I live where I do, surrounded by specific faces—specific lives, specific needs. What does it mean?

What does it mean that I am supposed to lead? What does it mean?

What questions are shaping you? As for me, I am haunted by the ones that begin, "What does it mean?"

 

The Man in the Window

A Sign from God

Devo -- A Sign from God

Signs and wonders. I confess that most of the time I wonder more about signs and wonders than I ever experience them. I have no stories about the heavens opening, dove descending. No writing on the wall, no parting of waters. It's not that I am closed to the idea of God breaking into my day in a miraculous way; it's just that most often I don't expect it.

But one verse is challenging me to change that. It's one of those passages that I have read time and time again. I've heard it quoted, preached and taught, and now it's got me looking for a sign—a sign that is vital to my relationship with the Forgiver; perhaps it is more vital than anything else in my experience with Him.

I'm looking for a sign. I'm trying to develop the habit of looking for it every day as I go about all the other routines of my life. I'm starting to get glimpses of it, and it's powerful. It is both challenging to me and rewarding when I recognize it and obey.

Yep, I'm looking for a sign from God, a divine interruption in the busyness of my day, my life, my mind, my schedule.

What's the sign I'm looking for? It's one that most of us will encounter today and pass right on by, but now I'm trying to look for it and obey.

Want to find it? Get in your car today and drive to a four way intersection. A residential neighborhood is likely to be more helpful, but you can discover this sign in any city, any town. Keep your eyes open and assume the posture of a searcher. Look for the sign. This is critical. If you're not looking for it, you're likely to miss it.

Before long you will encounter it. It is a guarantee I can make from this computer. There it will be right in front of you. Usually off to the side, visible day and night.

It's an eight-sided sign with one word painted on a red background—STOP.

There it is, my sign from God.

STOP

Every time I see it, I'm seeking to remind myself that God wants me to do just that—STOP. Stop and pause, connect with His presence, break the busyness with a moment that alters reality. STOP. I am not alone. STOP. He is in control. STOP. I am loved. STOP. He is real. STOP. Let the eternal redefine the temporal. STOP. He is speaking. STOP. And know that he is God.

I am trying to imagine how my life would change if every time I encountered a stop sign, I stopped, just for a few moments and reconnected with the God who transcends time. I'm looking for a sign from God, and every time I see it, I'm trying to obey.

¹⁰Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. Psalm 46:10 (The Amplified Bible)

Go ahead and look for the sign.

The Man in the Window.

What Does It Mean?

I live on fairly nice little street in a smaller little dead end neighborhood. You can't really drive through my neighborhood and get to another one. All roads into my neighborhood start from the same road and lead out to the same road out. The houses are modest, most lawns are well kept, and many have flowers in the yards, bird feeders among the landscape, swings on porches, patio furniture in the yard.

What does it mean to live there?

It means I mow my lawn and weed the flower beds. I trim the trees and rake the leaves. It means I take in the mail and take the trash to the curb. Empty bins are returned back to the house. I repair the sidewalk and keep it clear.

But what does it mean to live there?

I live among people, families, couples, children, and singles. So I'm polite to my neighbors; I wave in passing, play my music low and observe the boundaries between our yards. I've learned their names, returned the wrongly delivered mail.

But what does it mean to live among them?

I'm a follower of the Forgiver who just happens to work at a church.

So what does it mean to live there? The same thing it means for every follower of the Forgiver. It means that living there is more that mowing the lawn, being polite and learning names. It means that living there is a part of my calling, my place of service, my purpose.

It means that living there is a vital part of the advancing the kingdom. It means I have a role to discover in the relationships of those around me, friendships to be develop, and lives to be shared. It means I have a savior to be unveiled, a light to be lived out, love to be demonstrated, truth to be shown.

What does it mean that you live where you live?

The same thing.

The Man in the Window

This is one of those videos worth sharing

http://www.godtube.com/featured/video/steve-harvey-introduces-jesus-christ

Bruce D. Rzengota
Norwalk Alliance Church

Prayer is not preparation for the battle, it is the battle.

What Does It Mean?

I live on fairly nice little street in a smaller little dead end neighborhood.  You can't really drive through my neighborhood and get to another one.  All roads into my neighborhood start from the same road and lead out to the same road out.  The houses are modest, most lawns are well kept, and many have flowers in the yards, bird feeders among the landscape, swings on porches, patio furniture in the yard. 

What does it mean to live there?

It means I mow my lawn and weed the flower beds.  I trim the trees and rake the leaves.   It means I take in the mail and take the trash to the curb.  Empty bins are returned back to the house.  I repair the sidewalk and keep it clear. 

But what does it mean to live there?

I live among people, families, couples, children, and singles.  So I'm polite to my neighbors; I wave in passing, play my music low and observe the boundaries between our yards.  I've learned their names, returned the wrongly delivered mail. 

But what does it mean to live among them?

I'm a follower of the Forgiver who just happens to work at a church. 

So what does it mean to live there?  The same thing it means for every follower of the Forgiver.    It means that living there is more that mowing the lawn, being polite and learning names.  It means that living there is a part of my calling, my place of service, my purpose. 

It means that living there is a vital part of the advancing the kingdom.  It means I have a role to discover in the relationships of those around me, friendships to be develop, and lives to be shared.  It means I have a savior to be unveiled, a light to be lived out, love to be demonstrated, truth to be shown. 

What does it mean that you live where you live?

The same thing.

The Man in the Window

What's on the Scroll?

I was reading in Psalms this morning, Psalm 40 to be specific, and I was hit with another one of those leadership moments. I was struck by the wording of verses 7-10.

7 Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-
it is written about me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart."
9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips,
as you know, O LORD.
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and salvation.
I do not conceal your love and your truth
from the great assembly.

What a powerful thought. David understood that on a scroll before God things about him were already written. A godly leader is always aware that a record is being kept of not just deeds and accomplishments, but a scroll detailing character and habits is perpetually being written before God. As I sit in the window at the coffeehouse I ponder, "What was written on the scroll about me?"

David knew the character of his heart and life were reflected there.

· I desire to do your will.
· Your law is within me.
· I stand for righteousness.
· I speak of your unfailing love and faithfulness.

What would be written about me on the scroll? What would be written about you?

Every leader who follows the Forgiver should remember this truth. There is writing on the Scroll.

The Man in the Window