What are you looking at?

New Heights Men at New Heights Church Message from: Alex Hedgepeth Hey guys, Occasionally you will hear reference to “how we view life”. Or you might hear someone talk about what kind of lenses we use in our outlook on life, such as rose colored, referring to someone always looking at the bright side of things. Though lots of guys don’t go for the psychological side of things, this is true. Your life experiences, where you live, how you were raised, what kind of philosophies you embrace all color how you view life and the things in it. The question for today is: How do you perceive God? What kind of a being is he? What’s his heart and intentions towards us? I know men that hate the way they react to various situations and they honestly think that is the way God made them, that it is just their “personality”. REALLY? To view God as someone who’s purpose is to make you miserable, or that following Him is misery, wow. No wonder people are not lining up to get to heaven. That goes hand in hand with the perception that God is not actively involved in our lives. I was listening to a Christian kids show the other day on the radio (ok, it caught my attention as I was changing channels). It looked at the life of Solomon and his downfall with all the wives of other religions he had that led him astray from following God (they would actually do the whiney wife voice). At the end, at the “just in case you missed it, you imbecile, we are going to shove the point down your throat” time, they told the listener that if you are faced with temptation, to pray really hard and God would provide you a way out. Hogwash. That’s not what the scripture says (which they quoted, btw), the scripture says that God has already provided a way out; you just need to take it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.   Wow, move away from the subject of temptation for a moment and let the implications of that verse sink in for a minute. God provides. Wow, a God that loves us enough to be actively involved in our lives. I challenge you as you read scripture to see the different aspects of God and get a real idea of who He is and how He operates. It juuussst might be different from what we have misconceived most of our lives!   Upcoming! Friday 6:00 am Band of Brothers Warehouse   Spring Men’s Retreat March 9th and 10th. More details at our website www.newheights.com look under the men’s section. Early bird registration discount!   NEW!!!! It’s Your Call Retreat Led by Gary Barkalow, author of the book “It’s Your Call”. Come for a weekend of finding out who god made you to be and how He wants you to offer that to the rest of us. April 20th-22nd More details coming soon to our website. This retreat is being offered regionally, so men will be coming from Little Rock, NWA, Tulsa, etc. If you know anyone that is struggling with their direction, this will be a great weekend for them.