HAVE IT YOUR WAY.

GALATIONS 5:19 SAYS (THE MESSAGE)

"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless g rabs for happiness; trinket gods; magig show religion; paranoid  loneliness; cutthroat competition; all consuming yet never satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence of love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives small minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit Gods' kingdom".

Christianity is a funny thing to the CHRIST FOLLOWER. Christianity, at times is a product that can be formed to our current pleasures. (I.E. I LIKE THIS MOVIE...HENCE I CAN COMPLETELY JUSTIFY SPENDING 190 DOLLARS TO GO SEE IT...I MEAN IT'S JUST A MOVIE). The Christ follower sees the implications that movie has. Christianity at times frustrates the Christ follower. Though yes, one in the same. They have different mind sets. The Christ follower is avid on relentless pursuit of HIS precepts. The Christian struggles with how to "define" his/her Christianity.  The Christ follower, desires to die to himself continually, being the shadow of Christ. Sometimes Christians want it Their way. This leads to a life confusing, complacent, and shallow. What's the difference?  What are the distinct differences between Christianity and the Christ Follower?

 

SURRENDER!

Love to hear on this one!

Missions Minded

Missionaries are funny. People who go on missions  trips are even funnier. Now I'm speaking from a point of NEVER going on a missions trip (ill explain why in a bit).  But when someone comes back from a missions trip, it's ALL they can talk about. I mean in their mind we have missed out on the greatest opportunity God ever gave to any man, woman, child, or martian.  We must have missed God by like 4 states by not going on this missions trip. If were involved in another ministry....HOW DARE WE. Consequently one young woman this morning chastised the congregation. She made everyone stand up who had NOT gone on a missions trip, then exclaimed WHAT A SHAME....and continued to tell us how embarassed we should be for not going. (Funny note: This prompted a gentlemen next to me who also stood up to say: "But I supported over half that team...NOW WHAT?" I chuckled. A young lady who happens to help on my leadership team, and is in my college ministry, and is the pastors daughter. Shared her 3 week expierience with passion and conviction. In between both services I told her "BE THE FIRST". She looked at me quizzically. I said be the first to drag us to where God brought you to....Not allowing us to drag you back to "normality". 

     See for 11 years, I've heard of every missions trip is the most amazing. Only to watch every soul become the same shell they supposedly left here. It's like when they were unpacking from their missions trip, they went right ahead and unpacked that lazy, ego driven, complacient, critical christian they originally took with them. 

See the first young lady (the WHAT A SHAME lady) said about a 5 things completely offiensive to me. And you know what? I LIKED IT!!!!!!

        Seriously, I loved it. I was totally offended, and loved every second of it. You know why? I was in the prescence of passion. I was in the prescense of a EXPIERIENCE WITH GOD....The pastors daughter spoke on DREAMING BIG, in one of her points. I was hit with DREAM OBNOXIOUS....

DREAM OBNOXIOUS.....Think about that. Obnoxious people have absolutely no worry about who they are offending, where or what. They are obnoxious, and don't care WHO cares about it! A couple of these missionairies were seriously obnoxious, and offensive. And I loved every minute of it.

James 1:5 says (the message)

Ask Boldly. believing without a 2nd though. People who "worry about their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the mast that way, adrift at sea, keeping your options open

here's to OBNOXIOUSNESS.....

(to be continued....)

MISSED IT....BY "THAT" MUCH!!!!!!!

     Ever feel like your always 1 or 2 steps behind the next big idea. Last year a group of students and I begin feeding homeless communities in Lakeland Fla (before the city kicked them out). 6 months later REVIVAL HITS. For the last 10 months God's been putting a discontent in my heart how the church "Markets JESUS". Donald Miller writes a book called what? MARKETING JESUS! I swear in my line of work, there are always books being written, or philosophy's being implemented that "just" get done ahead of mine. As aggrevatting as that is, it's also comforting to know your in the right "ballpark", to where God is leading your life. This isn't that comforting though at the time. 

     You understand JOB (the bible guy..not the career) when he says "HE deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason' he sends them wandering through a trackless waste". 

But we must realize that as long as were in the same ocean, the waves of God's majestic visions will open in front of us. 

We must be patient. 

Psalms 143 says "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

     May we always be hungry to do. And patient to listen, wait, and BE STILL~

-ThE iDiOt-

RE-SERVING

Serving is easily accomplished when we are fully motivated. It's always so refreshing to see when someone has gone on a missions trip, to a camp, or conference and been energized to come back and serve with a open heart and a willing spirit.

But it's sad to see that fire go. To watch the flame evaporate into thin air. What had the potential to burn bright....just faded away. They get distracted, come back to "reality" and begin to serve another type god (fill in your god here......ego, reputation...."reality".....selfishness...and on and on and on...)

2nd Kings talks about the Israelites sinning against the Lord their God. Giving into the temptations  God had delivered them from. (Forgetting that connection and encounter with God to RE-serve Ungodliness)

32. "They worship the LORD, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places. 33. The worshiped the LORD, but they also served their own gods in accordance witht he customs of the nations from which they had been brought". 

Why would we RE-SERVE what we know ( pride...laziness....ignorance)?

it says

Earlier in scripture it says:(vs 18)

"The LORD was very angry with ISRAEL and removed them from his presence.

and in verse (20)

Therefore the LORD rejected all the people of Israel

(could you imagine...after all they had been through)

When we RE-SERVE the former, we get former results...

The Mentor

Mentorship per Wikipedia is described as a developmental relationship between a more experienced mentor and a less experienced partner reffered to as a protege- a person guided and protected by a more prominent person".

James 5:10 says this (message) Take the old prophets as your mentors. They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit, all the time honoring God. What a gift life is to those who stay the course! 

A mentor is a gift! A dying gift in today's world. 

Anyone who I ever council one of the first things I ask is "Who's your mentor" (in a Who's your daddy? kinda way).

I think when you live life without a mentor, your live a life that is LESS.

Less exciting

Less challenging

Less influential 

Just plain Less

God brings others into your lives to equip, challenge and encourage.

My favorite movie of all time is ROCKY. I believe in heaven 24/7 there will be a private mansion playing rocky 1-4 (skipping the last 2) for all of eternity. But that's just me.

There's a line where paully (rocky's brother in law) dares to ask Rocky what he see's in his sister. Rocky looks and him and says in a low mumble only true fans can understand.

"We fill gaps. She's got gaps, I got gaps...together we fill gaps".

Well said Rock.....Well said...

A mentor fills gaps.

Live a full life, find a mentor

To be continued....

SIMPLY FOOLISH....

So I'm in my quiet time the other day, and I come across a blog by my good friend John Piper (he actually doesn't know we are good friends as of yet...but that's besides the point). My good friend Johnny P, writes how "KNOWLEDGE INCREASES MYSTERY". Think about that for a moment. Knowledge increases mystery. He argues against the point that more knowledge "reduce the mystery, and therefore diminish wonder and worship". 

    So I'm thinking to myself. John John. Are you saying being a naieve is bad? Proverbs is laced with the descriptions of fools. Saying how we are not to be foolish, and seek prudence. In Proverbs 23:9 it says "Do not speak to a fool, for he will scron the wisdom of your words". But we also know that 

Jesus was surrounded by idiots (fools)

Moses led morons (fools)

and Saul was annointed by God and became a fool.

Paul actaually touts himself as "WE ARE FOOLS FOR CHRIST".

Then even goes on to say sarcastically to the Corinthians "We are fools for Christ sake, but YOOOOOOUUU are wise in Christ".

      I get John's point of Psalm 119 "How great to me your thoughts O lord, How vast is the sum of them". I even get how Paul several times quotes "I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BE IGNORANT OF THE MYSTERY".

But I live by a quote. "THE JOY IS IN THE CHASE"...

When a marathon runner runs, and gets to the end of his race. He's complete. The Joy is in WHAT HE DID, not WHAT HE FINISHED. You cannot rejoice in what you finished if you did not actually DO SOMETHING.

So, our complete knowledge in knowing God, comes in the joy of CHASING after him. 

Our complete understanding of HIM comes on our day of our homecoming. Job says "GOD IS GREAT AND WE DO NOT KNOW HIM"....

So the great debate. Are we too learned. It's funny the last 10 years I think sometimes Christians and followers of Christ refuse to look introspective and say "Were not serving God, were trying to corner God. Figure Him out. Package Him, Market Him, and distribute Him.

I ask myself, how was Enoch able to be in favor with God? So little written about him yet  There's a mystery to that relationship. I would be the house that it was because Enoch loved God for God. Didn't kill himself trying  to figure Him out for domintion purposes.

    Now I'm no one to argue with my best friend Johnny P (and please know I'm not). I'm simply bringing up the notion......"ARE WE TOO LEARNED". So book smart, and "expierince" armed that we've stoped serving/loving/honoring/cheerishing/ God....for just being God. Simply food for thought.

***ThE iDiOt.....

Why Care?

The most intense aspect of the human nature is the connection. Friends, family, and soon to be lovers. All different, but all very much the same.
It's the touch from one heart to another. It's the invisible connection of souls uniting. It's the connection a tree makes with the wind as it blows through the earth. The connection is invisible, yet the outcome is for all to gaze.
But why?
Why do we throw these connections away?
Why do we cast off people like old, waste?
Is it that we really have no clue at how powerful a connection can be?
Is it we are so self induldged with ourselves, that we live our lives centered around the current moment only?
Why would we do that?
How have "people", "connections", "life" become so expendable.
WHY CARE?
Dare we care enough to see beyond ourselves?
Do people care, or just simply long to exist?
Do real connections exist? people who care? who love?
and NOT just for a moment?