Whatever it is that stands in your way it no doubt falls into the not-now / maybe-later / but-first category. You'll never have the life of your dreams as you long as you give yourself permission to say, "But first let me do this."

Go out into the deep & cast your net & cast your net & cast your net ...

Jesus is calling us to a great life, a life of celebration in his kingdom. Will you be there?

In Jesus' day, he was confronted with a number of hypocritical attitudes in religious people—and he spoke out against them. He spoke out against their game-playing & their facades & challenged them to embrace true holiness. Today he still makes the same challenge. We struggle with the same temptations to play religious games—and this kind of hypocrisy is a major roadblock in our journey into holiness.

What is the root cause of our grumbling? It is envy—we root for the wrong side because we think we are like that early group that started early & worked all day. In our own eyes, we work so hard & receive so little in return while others do so little & receive so much.

Friends—there is no joy in defeat. There is no joy in failure. There is no joy in broken dreams & failed expectations. There is no joy in giving all you've got & getting nothing in return. These things do nothing to drain the life out of you. BUT there is joy in Jesus. When you make the deliberate choice to say "YET I will rejoice in him," the life that seemed to be drying up will suddenly be filled to overflowing. Life turns on this one phrase: YET I will rejoice in the Lord.

In Chapter 12 of Romans, Paul the Apostle gave us a “quick start” guide for how the individual is to live with God, with himself, and with those around us. Now in Chapter 13 he talks about how the Christian, with a renewed mind, is supposed to live in society. Not only does he say that we should obey the laws of the land—but obey even when those laws don’t make sense. In the process he reveals principals for getting along in the world.

When you step out of your comfort zone & take the risk of moving boldly into a new area, when you're willing to try something that no one else has the courage to try, you run the risk of failure. Risk it anyway. Be the lizard!

Following King Jesus, we should at least be able to advance together like the locusts that have no king. If we unite under Him there is no power under heaven or hell that can stop the army of the living God. United we stand—divided we fall when the devil can separate us—he can win.

Warden Cain and others salute Dr. Kolb on 25 years of ministry!