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  • One Pretty Pig

    March 21st, 2009

    Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. - Proverbs 11:22

    I came across this proverb in my daily reading this morning. It’s one of my favorites because it says so much in so few words. It has been said that a picture paints a thousand words, and this proverb paints a brilliant word picture.

    Have you ever wondered why our supermarkets are full of magazines that tout the adventures of the likes of Brittney Spears and Lindsey Lohan? Why are we so concerned with the size of Jessica Simpson’s pants? Its because we are enamored with outward appearances.

    But this proverb points out that no matter how well we dress up foul character, in the end it is the character that shows through. A pig, no matter how well adorned, is still a pig.

    By no means is this proverb reserved for women, either. The man who sacrifices his honor and integrity for the promotion is no less ugly.

    In the end, God sees beauty from the inside out. We do well to look for it in the same way.

    He Sold His Boat for Me

    March 15th, 2009

    This is what love looks like.

    What has someone that loved you given up? Do you still remember it or does it fade away into the past?

    Unexpected Feelings

    March 3rd, 2009

    Sometimes feelings creep up on you and you didn’t even have a clue they would be there. I experienced this tonight as I watch my truck of almost nine years drive away under the ownership of someone else.

    I bought my F150 in 2000. I wasn’t really ready to buy one yet, but I was just beginning to check out what was on the market. I had a checklist of everything I wanted in a truck: long bed, tow package, V8, cruise control, power everything, etc. During lunch one day I pulled into Pierson Ford’s used car lot and there it was. Everything I wanted and more.

    I know you aren’t supposed to get attached to possessions, but this truck and I had been together for quite some time. Countless family trips to the desert. Moving friends more times than I can count. A very special trip to the Grand Canyon with just Amanda and I. There were memories in that truck.

    So, when this stranger–a nice stranger with real cash money–got into MY truck and drove it away, it was harder than I thought.

    Everything has got to go eventually. My F150 went to a dad who was helping his daughter buy her first truck. When he told her on the phone that he had purchased it, she screamed with delight. Knowing that makes it easier.

    I Am Second (or is that Third?)

    March 3rd, 2009

    He must become greater; I must become less. - John 3:30

    Easy words to say, but harder to live by. Regardless, even the those of us who are furthest away from God can, in complete surrender, glorify Him even more. Here is an excellent example of that.

    I was once taught that Joy is more than just a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is also a formula for how to live:

    J – Jesus first
    O – Others Second
    Y – Yourself third

    Much wisdom there.

    The Bible is Funny

    February 28th, 2009

    Read this in my daily reading this morning and started laughing:

    Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. - Proverbs 10:18

    One of the reasons I love reading the Bible so much is because it is full of this kind of stuff.

    Travelling Hat – Part 01

    February 28th, 2009


    How far can a hat go? I left this hat at the top of North Fortuna mountain yesterday while I was hinking in the Mission Trails Park. At the top of the mountain there were some geocaches.

    I wrote a note on my hat that said something like this:

    Take this hat somewhere else and take your picture with it. Email the picture to me. I’d like to see how far this hat can travel.

    Who knows? I may never get an email. Or it could end up in Saudia Arabia, China, or Italy. Or maybe it could end up someplace really exotic like Chula Vista.

    Whine-skins or Wineskins?

    December 4th, 2008

    About the only thing that never changes is the fact that eventually everything changes. Most of us don’t like change. Some of us might say we love change, but study after study finds that those that say that only really enjoy change when they themselves are the ones controling the changes.

    And then Jesus enters the scene:

    No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.”

    Everywhere He went Jesus made changes. That’s how He rolls. Not everyone likes that about Jesus. For many of us or first and strongest reaction to the new wine is to lament with noxious whining.

    • That’s not the way I would have done it.”
    • We’ve never done it that way before.”
    • Why would we break a perfectly good tradition?”
    • I liked it the old way better.”
    • I don’t know why we have to change this.”

    What is Jesus trying to change in your life? You can hang onto the old, but all that will do is rip a hole in what God is trying to do. On the other hand, you can let Jesus make His changes, and drink deep the new wine. Who knows, you might even learn to like it.

    What’s Your Major Malfunction?

    December 4th, 2008

    If you were to list out the top three or five problems that you face today, what would they be? Maybe you are experiencing money problems and can’t figure out how to make ends meet. Perhaps there is a person you know who is going out of his or her way to make life hard for you. Perhaps you are feeling lonely, tired, depressed, or anxious. Maybe your body isn’t working the way it should; you are sick, or in pain, or both. The truth is, we all have some sort of malfunction in our lives. Most of us know that when we see a malfunction the best plan of action is to take it to Jesus and let Him fix it.

    That’s certainly the plan that a few friends had in this morning’s passage. They all had a friend who was paralyzed. No one could fix him. They didn’t have the knowledge or the technology to make it any better for him. But these friends figured something out: if anyone could help the paralyzed man, Jesus could. They brought the man to Jesus fully expecting Him to heal his body. But as is so often the case, Jesus didn’t do what they expected:

    When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

    The man and his friends all were convinced his biggest problem was that he was paralyzed. But Jesus didn’t see it that way. He knew that no matter how healthy his body was the man’s greatest challenge was the sin in his life.

    It’s no different for us. Our greatest challenge is our sin–that’s our major malfunction. Just like the paralyzed man, it’s hard to see our own sin through the lens of our perceived problems. We have to allow Jesus to point them out–and He will. But then we have to LISTEN to Him and respond. If we don’t listen we don’t see our need for forgiveness, and we miss out on the greatest gift God has ever given.

    So, what’s your major malfunction?

    Are You Willing?

    December 2nd, 2008


    If you are willing you can make me clean

    That’s what the leper says to Jesus in today’s reading.

    What is Jesus’ reply? “I am willing” Of course He is! Why would He not be willing? God’s greatest desire for each of us is that we be clean. Clean of selfishness, clean of dependency on things not of God, clean of judgement, clean of gluttony, and bottom line clean of sin altogether.

    The challenge is never whether Jesus is willing, it is whether we are willing to go to Him for the cleansing. We love that Jesus will do and has done the forgiving, but most times we’re not so excited about Him doing the cleaning. We don’t want Jesus to tell us what He told the leper: “Be clean.

    It was an interesting choice of words for Jesus. He says, “If you want to be clean, then be clean.” He doesn’t say, “I’ve cleaned you,” or “Go work on it.” He says “Be it.” The power is Jesus part. The being is ours.

    LISTEN!

    December 1st, 2008

    Jesus said that He came to bring “Good News,” and when we get good news we need to give it the attention is deserves. That’s why last Sunday I encouraged our church family to develop a practice of listening to Jesus. Listening doesn’t come naturally: it is a developed skill. That means we have to work at it and the more we work the better we get. The best way to develop the skill of listening to Jesus is to read the Bible. That’s why I gave us all an assignment to read the book of Mark this December.

    In today’s reading, we see:

    As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

    Traditionally, Christmas is a time of giving. The reason for this is simple: God gave us Jesus and Jesus gave all that He was for all of us. So we give to each other in an inadequate yet meaningful attempt to mirror God’s generosity.

    I am struck, however, that even before Jesus gave His life for us all, John, James, Simon (Peter), and Andrew gave their lives to Him. They didn’t know what they were getting into, but they knew this: being a follower of Jesus was a much better thing than being a master fisherman. They gave Jesus their trust, their loyalty, and their futures. They held nothing back. There is no more powerful gift we can give Jesus than that.

    So here is the question: What are you holding back from Jesus? Is there anything that you are hanging onto that keeps you from following Jesus?

    You are What You Eat…

    November 3rd, 2008

    …and perhaps you are what you watch as well:

    Groundbreaking research suggests pregnancy rates are much higher among teenagers who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior compared with those who have tamer viewing tastes…

    The new study is the first to link those viewing habits with teen pregnancy. It involved about 2,000 12-to-17-year-old girls and boys nationwide. They were questioned by telephone about their TV viewing habits. The teens were first interviewed in 2001, then were reinterviewed twice, the last time in 2004.

    Participants were asked how often they watched any of more than 20 TV shows popular among teenagers at the time or which were found to have lots of sexual content. The shows included “Sex and the City,” “That 70s Show” and “Friends.”

    Pregnancies were twice as common among teenagers who said they watched such shows regularly, compared with teenagers who said they hardly ever saw them.

    Top 10 Predictions No Matter Who Wins the Election

    October 28th, 2008

    1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
    2. Prayer will still work.
    3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
    4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
    5. There will still be God-annointed preaching.
    6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
    7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
    8. There will still be room at the Cross.
    9. Jesus will still love you.
    10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him .

    Isn’t it great to know who’s really in control!!??

    (from an email sent to me by Millie)

    How Would Jesus Rock?

    August 29th, 2008

    I love Guitar Hero. So does the majority of the youth in our church. We have often talked about having a Guitar Hero tournament at the church, but alas, many of the songs on the game’s CD are not, shall we say, “church appropriate.”

    That’s why this is great news:

    Witness here the second coming of Guitar Hero, hence forth to be known as Guitar Praise.

    Guitar Praise is being made (it releases in September) by a company called DigitalPraise. It’s a straight up GH knockoff, not unlike DigitalPraises knockoff of DDR, known as Dance Praise…

    There’s plenty of room for all in the rhythm genre and the Christian music industry is HUGE and for the most part a totally untapped revenue source in the video games market, so I’d have to say “get to rocking all you Creation-Festers.”

    That line about a totally untapped market is straight on. Time to get the fingers warmed up…

    What a Great Country We Live In

    June 30th, 2008

    It’s Different Where We Are

    June 23rd, 2008

    The good news? 92% of Americans claim a belief in a diety greater than themselves.

    On the other hand, Californians are markedly different than the rest of the nation:

    But California, like other states along the country’s two coasts, resisted the prevailing national tendencies.

    Californians are less likely than other Americans to consider religion “very important” in their lives or to be “absolutely certain” in their belief in God.

    Californians pray less than others in many parts of the country. They are less inclined to take the word of God literally. And they are ready to embrace “more than one true way” of interpreting their religious teachings.

    This isn’t neccessarily bad news, however. It just means that in California we have to approach conversations in a different way. It also means we must be much more honest and transparent about our own Christian living. The forces us to actually live out what Jesus lived out.

    I’m convinced that when we do that, our most devoted disciples will be those who once thought they would never claim religion to be “very important” in their day-today lives.

    Cardboard Testimony

    June 15th, 2008

    What would be on your cardboard sign?

    The Discipleship Model – Part 3

    June 12th, 2008

    In the last post about discipleship we established the concept that discipleship ins’t a program, it is a lifestyle. We each need to have an attitude that every moment is a potential discipleship moment and every person that we encounter is a potential disciple.

    That means that some of our disciples will be people who do not yet know God, or Jesus, or the Bible at all. So the question is, “Do we disciple unbelievers differently than we do believers?”

    We can’t really answer that question until we answer another question, which is: what is the goal of discipleship?

    Shortly after Jesus had died on the cross and risen from the dead, He pulled His closest followers aside and gave them their marching orders. Jesus said,

    “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

    Did you catch that? Jesus is the only guy in history to get up from the grave on His own power and start walking around. He then says all authority in all creation has been given to Him. Where does that authority come from? It comes from the very fact that He’s walking around instead of rotting in a cave somewhere. He has just beaten death, do you think He has the authority to tell us what our life mission should be? You bet.

    That authority that He has puts a tremendous amount of weight on Jesus’ next words. You see, if Jesus has all authority, that means he pretty much rules all creation. What He says goes. And the fact that He points out His authority right before giving us this command should tell us He means business in what He is about to say. He is serious about it, so we should be equally serious.

    So what does He tell us to do? Make disciples. How do we do that? Three things:

    1. Baptise them. That’s identification with Christ.
    2. Teach them to obey. That’s imitation of Christ
    3. Teach them that Jesus is always with us. That’s intimacy with Christ.

    That’s how we make disciples. Now let’s get back to our original question. Is discipling an unbeliever any different that a believer? If discipleship is leading people to be baptised, teaching them to obey Christ, and developing a minute-by-minute dependence on Him, then aren’t these all things we need to model and encourage no matter what a person’s spiritual state is?

    See, we get caught up on the “pray-the-prayer” and be saved thing. We want people to make a big decision for Christ. But what discipleship is really about is helping people make incremental spiritual steps toward what God originally intended for them, which is an authentic relationship with Him. And the best way to teach others on how to do that is to live out a continually growing relationship with Jesus and invite them to follow.

    That means the most important ingredients to any discipleship relationship aren’t knowledge and expertise, but love and time. Sure, biblical knowledge is essential. But helping someone gain biblical knowledge makes a student, not a disciple. Discipleship is about pouring your life into another person intentionally and lovingly in such a way as when you have left that person he or she is a bit closer to Christ than before. That’s something you can do with anyone–believer, or non.

    Love This Video

    June 7th, 2008

    Well, the embed code has been disabled, so click here to see it.

    Life Stages

    June 6th, 2008

    I’m sitting at the graduation ceremony of the Santana class of 2008 right now. It seems to me it was just yesterday that I was the one graduating and now here I am watching my own child take that step. Truly, time passes faster than we can comprehend.

    We can worry about how quickly time goes by or we can make the most of the stage we are currently in. When we focus on time gone by, everything seems lost. We can never recapture yesterday. But, if we focus on right where God has us at this moment, then every moment is a chance for adventure.

    My kids ask me, “What’s been the best stage of your life?” I am so blessed that I can answer truthfully that every stage of my life has been the best stage.

    Paul puts it this way: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

    See, it isn’t which stage you are in that is important. What is of most importance is to make the most of the stage you are currently in.

    The Discipleship Model – Part 2

    June 5th, 2008

    So how do we begin a discipleship relationship? One of the problems we have with discipleship is that we look at it as something we do. In our minds, discipleship is little different than laundry, taking out the trash, or keeping a doctor’s appointment. Just like all those things, discipleship becomes another task that we do when it is time to do it.

    But as we look through the Bible, we see that Jesus never looked at discipleship as a task to be accomplished. Instead, He lived a lifestyle of discipleship.

    Surely, there were times that Jesus set aside for His closest followers, and He used those times to intentionally disciple them. But Jesus was also a master at turning every interruption and every circumstance into a discipleship moment. That meant at any moment, any one who was within hearing distance of Jesus was a potential disciple.

    Think about it. In John 4, we have the picture of the woman at the well. She went there to get a bucket of water and she left with a soul full of living water. She wanted to know what mountain to worship on, and left knowing it was more important to worship in spirit and truth. In short, she came to the well with one way of thinking and left with another–and that change of thinking changed her life. Jesus had never encountered her before and in one conversation she became His disciple.

    The woman at the well wasn’t the only time Jesus did this. There was the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life. There was the blind man in John 9. There were the children who wanted to see Jesus. The examples are countless.

    See, Jesus never set aside a time and place to disciple. Instead, He discipled where He was, with anyone and everyone He was with. For Jesus, discipleship wasn’t a task, it was a lifestyle. Every where He went was the place for disdcipleship. Everyone He met was a disciple. Every encounter was a discipleship moment.

    Here is what this means to us. Yes, we need to be intentional about discipleship. Being intentional does mean setting aside a time and place in which we focus on how to apply God’s Word to our own life and that of another person. Jesus did that with His apostles. But it doesn’t mean that is the only time we are to disciple someone. To the contrary, we need to live a lifestyle of discipleship. That means everyone we encounter is a potential disciple.

    What about those who don’t believe in God or Jesus? Yep, they’re potential disciples too. See, most of those Jesus discipled in the moment weren’t believers either. If everyone is a potential disciple (believers and nonbelievers) then the false tension that we create between evangelism and discipleship completely disappears.

    This brings up a question: Is there a difference in how we disciple an unbeliever and a believer? We’ll look at that in part three.

    The Disicpleship Model – Part 1

    June 2nd, 2008

    Recently I have been more and more convicted that what we really need to concentrate on in the American church in general and in my local church in particular is to develop a culture of discipleship. The problem is every time we begin to talk about “discipleship” people get nervous.

    In the classic church there has been a tension between discipleship and evangelism. Evangelism and discipleship seem to war at each other because they each have opposite targets in mind. Evangelism targets the unbeliever, so we need to be more “seeker sensitive” in order to be effective evangelists. On the other hand, discipleship is aimed at the believer who has sensed a need for spiritual growth. “Seeker sensitive” suddenly becomes a hinderence to “going deeper” in God’s Word.

    Yet, I am coming to the conclusion (actually I think I have already arrived) that the tension we feel between evangelism and discipleship is a false one brought about by our own inadequate understanding of what Biblical discipleship really is. If we could re-capture a Biblical model of discipleship, I think we would find this tension to be a figment of our frenzied imaginations.

    There are two main mistakes the Western Church has made in the past two hundred or so years. The first is that it has believed that its main mission is to convert as many people as possible into believers. The second is that it has spent much too much energy and effort educating Biblical students. The problem is that the Bible never tells us to do either of these things.

    If we make converting people into believers our main mission we miss the mark. Biblically Jesus told us to “make disciples,” not believers. The problem with “believers” is that belief alone never translates into a Christ-like life. Each of us needs models to follow. These models cannot only be dusty, old, dead people from the pages of the Bible. Certainly the examples of people like Joseph, Daniel, and Elijah are great, but if you are like me (human, that is) you need a concrete living example of what it looks like to live a life that is fully surrendered to Christ. Getting people to “pray the prayer” just won’t do that. As a matter of fact, you can search the whole Bible and not find one example of a person who prayed the “sinner’s prayer.” You can’t find it because no one did it. People were exposed to Christ’s followers. They believed or they didn’t believe. Those that believed got baptized. Those that were baptized were discipled. It was that simple.

    But discipleship isn’t some study program either. When we approach discipleship as an educational process (can you name all the books of the Bible in order?) we miss the mark altogether again. That’s because discipleship is about transforming lives, not transfering information. A process of information transfer doesn’t produce Christ-like lives either. Instead, it produces cocky, self-assured attitudes.

    The Biblical model of discipleship isn’t about getting people to be believers and it isn’t about filling people up with information. Back in Jesus’ day a disciple had just one goal: to become just like his master. That must be the number one goal of discipleship today as well. If we are going to be, and more importantly if we are going to build disciples then the goal of that discipleship is to act, breathe, think, love, and live like Jesus. In other words, the measure of discipleship won’t be about how far we get through a set of material that we have been assigned. It won’t be about answering a list of Bible questions correctly. Instead it will be about how well we love God and love others. It will be about how effectively we serve others. It will be about developing humility in ourselves and confidence in Christ.

    Now how does this happen? Stay tuned…

    Great Faith…

    May 19th, 2008

    Two weeks ago on Mother’s day Rahab the prostitute was our example during our HEROES series. The key thought for the message was that great faith always overcomes great failure. It’s neat to see how God has worked in the past, but here is confirmation that God is still at work today:

    Shredded Pages

    April 8th, 2008

    In 2003 the Episcopal church (which is the American arm of the Church of England) ordained their first openly gay bishop. It caused quite the uproar. At that time I wrote this:

    So what we have here is a clash between what man thinks is right and what the Bible says is right. Everyone who is a Bible believing Christian has faced this crisis. When we find our personal beliefs or feelings in conflict with Biblical truth, we have a choice: reject what the Bible says, or reject what we feel is right and align with the Bible. The choice that the Bishop and his supporters have taken is clear.

    Is it right to leave your wife for another person? The Bible says no.

    RRRRIIIPP – just tear that page out.

    Is it right to allow such an adulterer into Church leadership? No again.

    RRRRIIIPP – there goes another page.

    Is it o.k. to ordain those who practice homosexuality? No! No! No!

    RRRRIIIPP – it’s getting easier now, isn’t it?

    Is there any way to heaven without Jesus? The Bible says absolutely not.

    RRR?can your hear it?

    Many people at that time thought I was foolish for suggesting that this decision to allow a gay man to become a bishop would lead to the denial that Jesus is the only path to salvation. I was told I was going overboard. But that is exactly where we find ourselves today. From Monday’s Union Tribune:

    Jefferts Schori is not a biblical literalist. Take the six-day story of Creation in Genesis, for example. “It’s too good a story to believe it literally,” she said. “It’s got too much meaning to be boxed up in that small of an understanding.”

    Seeing Jesus as the only way to redemption also “puts God in a very small box,” she said.

    Did you catch that? Jefferts Schori, in case you were wondering, is the “presiding bishop” of all the Episcopalian churches. That pretty much makes her the “pope” of the United States for Episcopalian Christians–and she says that the very idea that Jesus is the only way to redemption “puts God in a very small box.”

    It only took four years for the Episcopalians to move from ordaining a gay, adulter as a bishop to denying the central tenent of the Christian faith: that Jesus is the only path to salvation.

    That’s what happens when we stop calling sin what it really is: sin. We want to call sin something different. We want to call it a “lifestyle.” We want to call sin a “mistake.” We want to call it “biology.” The bottom line is if sin isn’t sin we don’t need a savior. And if we don’t need a savior then we don’t need Jesus.

    Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t about gay bishops or homosexuality in the church. We do the same thing everyday when we try to rationalize or justify our own sin. We deny we’ve done it or we deny that it was wrong. When we do it makes us as rebellious and as guilty as the Bishop Robinson.

    That’s why we need Jesus who said, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the way, but He is the truth as well. You can never get free of your sin until you deal with that. But when you do, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

    There is only one way to be free of sin–through Jesus Christ. But it only happens when we ADMIT and SUBMIT. We have to admit our sin and give it to Jesus. Then we have to submit to His word and change what we do. Admit and submit. Do that and be free.

    March 30th, 2008

    Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. – Romans 12:21

    Here is what that looks like:

    The miracle of the Resurrection of Christ has reverberated through my soul, liberating it from the darkness of a tendency where hate and intolerance in before the “other”, condemning it uncritically as an “enemy”, and ascending to love and respect for one’s “neighbor”, who is always and in any case a person; thus my mind has been released from the obscurantism of an ideology which legitimates lying and dissimulation, the violent death that leads to homicide and suicide, blind submission and tyranny – permitting me to adhere to the authentic religion of Truth, of Life, and freedom. Upon my first Easter as a Christian I have not only discovered Jesus, but I have discovered for the first time the true and only God, which is the God of Faith and Reason …

    This is how we, as the church, overcome Islam and violence and decadence and marriages that won’t work, and selfishness. We focus on and center our lives around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nothing else has that power.

    Pay Attention

    March 19th, 2008

    CORE – Part 4: Uncompromising Commitment to the Mission

    March 7th, 2008

    What do you think of when you hear the word “church?”

    Do you think of a building? An organization? A group of smiling, happy people holding hands? If you were to define the church in one, single word, what word would you use?

    I think if Jesus was asked that question there is a high chance he’d use this one: mission. The church is a mission. We aren’t on a mission, we are a mission. We are God’s hands and heart and eyes and ears right here on Earth. It’s easy to lose track of that. Its easy to fall into the kind of thinking that says all we are is a “body” of people who “share” the same core “beliefs.” But that’s not a church. That’s a club.

    A church is a mission. As a matter of fact, the church is God’s mission on Earth. We need to remember that because when we forget we start to fall into the thinking that the church is a way that uses to do His work. The truth is, the church is the way God works. And you are a part of that.

    The church is how God says to us, “I’m committed. I’m all in.” Here’s what the Bible says about this:

    …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
    - Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)

    That’s committed. That’s all in. And He did that for the church. If Jesus is all in we need to be all in too.

    Committed means there is no quit. It’s easy to throw in the towel when things get rough. It’s easy to say, “This isn’t for me” when the future doesn’t look bright. But when Jesus faced the cross, He didn’t quit. He said, “Father, Your will be done.” He was committed.

    Committed means doing your part. Yes, the church is a body. That means we all have our part to play. The problem is many of us don’t want to do our part. Oh, for a season we volunteer or help out, but we aren’t willing to take ownership. It’s easier to sit back and watch others do it. But that’s not being the church, that’s just “playing” church. Committed means each of us takes an area of the ministry and owns it. We say “Pastor, don’t worry about this, it’s mine.”

    Committed means sacrifice. Committed means we serve not because the church needs workers but because we believe in the vision God has given. Commited means we step out, risk our time and our reputations. Committed means we sacrifice a past-time like going to the desert or playng softball or going bowling or going to the movies because those are temporary but building the kingdom has everlasting impact.

    Here’s the thing: only the committed experience the victories. Don’t be fooled: God will always get the victory. But those who quit aren’t around to see it. Those who don’t do their part don’t share in it. Those who do not sacrifice get nothing for their time. Only the committed get to see and experience the greatest works of God.

    So here’s the question: do you have an uncompromising commitment to the mission of God at Living Hope?

    It’s Been a Good Day

    March 4th, 2008

    I just got back from spending the entire day with a good friend who was in need of a good friend. It is easy to underestimate just how much we need each other in this life. Sometimes it takes a day like today to remind me of that.

    Who’s life do you need to be involved in? Do you open yourself up and allow others to speak into your life? Who have you given permission to do that?

    The Bible says that “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Are you being sharpened by another?

    CORE – Part 3: Uncurably Broken Heart for the Lost

    March 3rd, 2008

    I had something quite interesting happen to me the other day. I was driving and listening to the radio when a song came on about the rapture. The main theme of the song was “the sooner Jesus comes back the better.”

    I used to think like that. After all, the world is going to hell in a hand basket and I can’t think of a better time for Jesus to come back. Wouldn’t it be cool if in the middle of a presidential campaign Jesus came back and showed everyone that He’s not a Democrat or a Republican? Wouldn’t it be special if He came back and established His kingdom on Earth and we would all celebrate because we are obviously on the winning side?

    But this day, as I listened to that song I couldn’t help but think about all those who have not yet been reached by God’s grace through Jesus. I thought about the 63,000 residents of our neighborhood that live within three-and-a-half miles of our church that do not have a vibrant relationship with a God who loves them. I thought about the kids I see each week at the Sonshine club after-school program who never get to church because their parents are too busy with softball or soccer or work or going to the desert. I thought of families torn apart by the false gospel that says we can give lip-service to Christ without authentically turning our lives over to Him. I thought of all those who do not know the unrestrained joy of a life fully surrendered to the cause of Christ.

    Then I started to pray a prayer I had never prayed before:

    Not yet, Jesus,” I prayed. “Wait. Hold off. We have more to save. Give us more time. If you come now it will be too late for them.

    My heart was broken for those who did not yet know Him. It was broken to the point that I was asking God to hold off…

    I believe that every time God moves greatly He does so through those who have uncurably broken hearts for the lost. When our hearts are broken for the lost it changes the way we think. Judgment goes out the window and we look for opportunities to exercise the grace that God has given to us. When our hearts are broken for the lost it changes how we do things. It doesn’t change what Christ followers do; all Christ followers devote themselves to the teaching of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. But when our hearts are broken we will change how we do those things so that those who are hopelessly separated from God will find living hope in Jesus.

    That means we structure our Sunday service in such a way that people who are just checking out God, the Bible, Jesus and church won’t be weirded out. It doesn’t mean we water anything down, but it does mean that we see ourselves as missionaries in a foreign culture. Therefore, instead of requiring the culture around us to speak our language, like any good missionary we are determined to learn and use the language of the culture God has given us the privilege of ministering to.

    You see, if we don’t have a broken heart for the lost, our default attitude will be that our neighbors deserve whatever judgment God has planned for them. As a matter of fact, we will be all too eager to watch God meet out His wrath. But if we have the heart like Jesus, the sin, dysfunction, and hurtful lifestyles of those who do not yet know of Jesus will produce a life altering sadness in us that motivates us to love and good deeds.

    And that’s where God does His best work.

    Satan Uses Turbo Tax

    February 25th, 2008

    Youth Vision

    February 24th, 2008

    Well I just got home from our Youth Vision meeting tonight and I am amped up. God is moving so powerfully in our church I can’t even begin to fathom it all. We had practically half the sanctuary full of people who wanted to know about and be a part of what God wants to do with our teenagers and that’s just wild.

    I can’t tell you how cool it is to be serving and loving in a church that is full of people who are excited to see and be a part of what God is doing. When that happens, watch out. God is looking for surrendered people who are hungry to see Him move and when He puts people like that together mighty things happen.

    People get saved.
    Lives are restored.
    Kids are set on the path of righteousness.
    Parents see redeemed kids and then find faith for themselves.
    Broken families find wholeness.

    In short, people who are hopelessly seperated from God begin to find living hope in Christ. And that’s what we are all about.

    Get ready to see a great work of God.

    It’s coming…