heath in progress

I was reading in Acts 21 yesterday a passage I have read many times and was struck by a simple passage without any obvious points of application.

Verses 5 & 6 read:

“5 When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed 6 and said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home.”

Without going into the full context of what is happening here, we are in the middle of one of Paul and his friend’s missionary journeys. They had spent a week with fellow Christ followers in Tyre, Syria and were departing to continue their journey. As I picture the scene, I see men and women, married and single, young and old with kids in tow on a grey beach in the cool hours of the morning. I don’t really know why other than that I love movies like Braveheart and Lord of the Rings.

I see them circled up looking at each other when they take a knee and pray earnestly right there on the beach. I thank God for how He speaks to hearts and transports us in our imaginations. I really do think that I felt what they felt that day and because of that, God reminded me of two things that lead to the expression of prayer that we are called to.

This group of people that were closer than brothers and sisters were led to this posture of humility and dependency on a sandy beach because of their:

1. Affection for one another and
2. The understanding of the weight of the call on their lives and journey that was ahead of them.

Because they cared for each other, they did the most effective and important thing they knew to do. They took their burdens fears, questions, and uncertainties to their creator God, caring heavenly Father, and almighty God. They used the best weapon they had. They fought for each other right there on the beach on their knees.

I imagine this was not a circle where they stood around, looked at each other and said, “OK, now who has any prayer requests or praises?” They knew the monumental task at hand and the danger that was ahead. There were no unspoken prayer requests there. They were specific and humbly bold with their requests. They also recognized that the burden did not leave when Paul left but that each one of them carried the same call that Paul did.

In an effort to keep this from being a sermon, I will stop there but I pray that the journey of this message continues to the depths of my heart and God continues to unfold His mysteries to you and me.

I pray for that caring and affection between me and my fellow brothers and sisters to the point of being willing to do whatever it takes to fight for each of them starting on my knees. I also cry out for my heart to be stirred and my soul to be awakened of the great need that surrounds me everyday and that God has called His church to be Jesus incarnate to the world. “I cannot do it on my own,” is my confession.

May the progress continue…

Is it better to be a utility player? One of those people that are pretty good at a lot of things or a specialist. A person that truly excels at one thing?

All contexts apply. Ministry, secular, whatever…

I am a dreamer. I am always looking up or ahead to that next big thing. With this, comes a sense of adventure and even a good idea every now and then. However, it can also lead to being discontent with where i am or what i am doing.

I was recently speaking with a good friend and confidant about the state of things and he replied that if God were to want me to “move,” He would give me the desperation needed to push me to make a leap. My struggle comes and goes day to day. Some days, I am full of purpose, vision, and determination and others, i feel like I am all alone and beating my head against the wall.

In my pursuit of the Lord throughout this season, He has constantly assured me that I am where I am supposed to be. With that assurance and the lack of desperation, i have come to a place of recognizing my lacking in trusting in the Lord. I obviously have my ideas of what my life and the ministry i am involved should look like. My own selfish ambition often collides with the way of God’s economy. That seems to be the key to all of this.

There is no greater satisfaction than the satisfaction found in obedience. God has proven Himself faithful over and over. My hope is that as the days and years go by, i get in the way less and less.

I need some resources to help me out with my creative perspective. I love that we are called to express the same Creativity that was used by the Creator of all things. I look forward to seeing what inspires you. Leave me a comment below.

Are you conformed, re-formed, or transformed?

Conformed – Living out the pattern of the world. You blend right in to all the things around you.

Re-formed – No, I’m not talking about Martin Luther here. This is for those of us who are deep in the trenches of church work and Christian culture. We are different than the world but really we still are just blending in to popular church culture.

Transformed – You are who you are because of the work of Jesus in your life. You are redeemed, reconciled, and regenerated. You may look like the culture around you but it is not out of a pursuit to relate but out of your pursuit of the Heart of God. You live within the culture of the world and the church but you are not enslaved to it.

If you feel like you are a conformer, know that the sense that you have that there is more is there for a reason. God created you for a bigger purpose. That bigger purpose begins in the moment you come to know Jesus on the personal level; upon calling on Him as Savior. I know that if this is where you are, those words may not totally jive with you. Please leave a comment  and we can connect and continue this conversation. Also, to be a Christ follower and be conformed to the ways of this world is sinful. I don’t say that to be condemning but to hopefully awaken you to the fullness of life that is found in the calling that you have on your life.

If you feel like you are re-formed as I have defined it, you are chasing after lesser things. You are in bondage that is wrapped in a pretty bow. Everything you are involved in sounds and looks good and beneficial but is overall empty. You spend your time chasing the newest fad or technology. You are probably a charismatic leader that people like to be around so that offers the validation that you need to stay there. I find myself here all to often.

We are called to be transformed. A relationship with Jesus and scripture are meant to be transformative. In our pursuit of t holy things, we are not looking for a formula to live by, we are surrendering to a fundamental change that happens in our core. This effects everything that we are. What we do comes from a resolve to live out the love of Jesus. As He is loving, growing, and leading us, we live that out in front of the world. In being transformed, you may not “look” any different than the “re-formed” but all that you do comes from a deeper place.

Of course Romans 12 came to mind.

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We are called to be different, to be sanctified. That is fundamental and universal to all areas of our lives. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, ”… you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

This is not something to be taken lightly. We are commanded to live this way. One last scripture from Hebrews 10:29 – “29How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”

We must have the courage to step into the unknown. To follow our Heavenly Father knowing that He is leading us and we can trust Him. To really do that, we must live transformed lives. Be humbled, lean into God and be transformed.

Blessings

A few months ago when we started really getting into planning our Easter services, I was getting ready to lead a creative meeting and was led down a path of thought that I feel would be good to share.

I have been in church for almost all of my life and I have been a part of planning/ leading Easter services for 14 years. Sadly, I have never questioned or really sat and thought about why we always make our Easter services celebrative. Well, this year I did.

Why do we celebrate in our Easter services? Sadly, what landed me on this train of thought was the desire to buck tradition and authority. Gladly, God spoke and humbled my heart and opened my eyes. I will do my best to keep this short.

The world was waiting on their Messiah. We see the anticipation that the world lived in as we look at the encounters we read about in the Bible. Andrew running to tell his brother that he had found the Messiah. The Samaritan woman stating that she was waiting on the Messiah. Then Jesus comes, lives 30 years in obscurity, begins his three year public ministry that worked to keep is true identity a secret until it was His time, and then the reveal. Jesus makes it known that He is the Messiah. There is flood of hope. Miracles happen. The word spreads. Expectations rise. There is a huge celebration when Jesus enters the city on Friday.

Something goes wrong (from the perspective of those who see him as the messiah). He is put on a trial and found guilty and sentenced to death. How can this happen to the Messiah, your Savior, your awaited King that has finally come?

From here, I started thinking about the those who endured the concentration camps in the holocaust. What was it like for them when they heard their liberators coming. They lived in hell on earth without any hope. Stripped of their humanity, dignity, and their dreams of the future. They had no way of helping themselves. Then they hear the now familiar noise of battle… but now it seems to be getting closer. They experience the fear mixed with hope of what this could mean. I picture them peaking out through their windows and seeing the heads of the allied forces coming over the hill. Then they see the defeat and surrender of their captors. They see the gates open and they are cared for, provided for and FREED. Before you read on, take a second and think on those moments. Do your best to live it out.

Just like those holocaust survivors, the world was in need of a Savior. There was no hope. When Jesus died on the cross, there was the chaos and uncertainty wondering if they were foolish for believing. All of creation held its breath for three days. THEN…

Our Liberator rose. They saw Him come over the hill to deliver. We let out our breath in sweet relief. Mark Driscoll wrote, “Without the resurrection, we are but forgiven corpses.” That is why we celebrate. Jesus is our HOPE OF GLORY!

I leave you with this. - Romans 8:18 – 24

18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved.

Blessings. Let us celebrate our risen Savior together.

Here it is, my first post

I know it is April 1st but the following is what I am calling the “March Manifesto.” (It is called that because it was writtne… in march) It is really not much more than a caffeine enhanced stream of consciousness. However, it was a kick in the pants that led me to stop talking about doing this blog, as well as other things, and to start actually doing them.

I will live unselfishly, I will laugh so hard it hurts, I will go on adventures, I will open my life to others, I will get messy with others in their lives, I will love well, I will be a part of the visible church, I will live as part of the invisible church, I will take initiative, I will not be afraid (even when I am afraid), I will wash the cars more, I will speak truth boldly in love, I will start a blog, I will actually put entries in that blog regularly, I will follow through with what I say I am going to do, I will not just dream of what could be, I will live with purpose, I will not be passive, I will pray, I will fight for the oppressed and hurting and neglected, I will not waste time, I will live with urgency, I will seek the will of God, I will submit my life to the authority of Jesus, I will look for needs in the lives of those around me and do my best to meet those needs, I will work to be freed from the grip of materialism, I will play guitar more, I will sing more, I will lift up those around me, I will let go of control, I will love my wife as Christ loves the church, I will be wife’s biggest fan, I will put myself “out there”, I will not be satisfied except for the glory of God in my life, I will not listen to the lies, I will pursue holiness, I will accept the charge to be the light of the world, I will live as one who was hopeless and fallen but has been redeemed, lifted up and filled with hope by Jesus, my liberator and Savior.

We’ll see how it goes