What is your next step?

As a tribe, why do we exist? As a church, what are we about, what is our mission?

To help spiritually confused people become passionate Christ followers.

Everything we do as a church, is filtered through that mission. And as I studied Jesus and his interaction with his disciples I saw the same thing. We always assume the disciples are these iconic stainglass figures who started the early church with impecable and fearless faith. We overlook where they started. We overlook the fact that these men were simply just ordinary men who were called by Jesus to, "Follow Me." It was in that pursuit, in that journey where these men, through years of following became passionate Christ followers.

I believe the same is true of us today. But I want to see, what is the bench mark of a follower. What is it that Jesus pushed them on, in becoming a passionate Christ follower?

Mark 3:14 "He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and that he might send them out . . . "

Two things come jumping off the page for me when I read this. Jesus wanted his disciples to follow him in two areas, intimacy with Him and influence with others. Because we are all on a journey, somewhere between spiritually confused and passionate Christ follower. It is good to identify, where are we on our journey? And what is the next step I need to take?

Specifically, this week, what is the next step you need to take in growing in itimacy with Christ? What is that next step you need to take where God is more active in your day to day things? Can you ask God, what do you have for me next? Does that draw you closer to him?

Share with us, what it is for you and how you want to be challenged in that next step. Thanks!!

Life a year from now?

Another year is upon us. What will this new year bring? New resolutions, new promises, new habits . . .

What is it for you? What do you want to see happen this year? Maybe not so much about habits and promises as it is God at work in and around you.

What would it be like, a year from now, to see the impact that you left in this world? What would it be? What impact do you want to make this year?

Curious

I thought of this question when I was driving home from church last week (Nov. 16th).

Why do you go to church?

This isn't a question motivated by guilt. It is a question that challenged me and I was curious why others go to church. Let me know, take some time and respond.

Thanks and have a great day.

Experiencing You- Your Desires

What satisfies you?

Let's hear it . . . what satisfies you?

Experiencing You: Who Am I?

Who am I was yelled from the top of a building structure by Jackie Chan in his movie, "Who Am I?" back in 1998 and I think it is a question we wrestle with day in and day out. Sometimes we get caught in the mundane and simply settle for, "I am who I am." But who am I? What is my identity? And how can I live out of who I am if I don't know who I am?

I think we need to get back to creation to see who we are at the core. According to Genesis 1:26a-27 it says:

Then God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness . . . So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

According to this verse, we are made in God's image, his likeness. Which means, from my understanding, that we are righteous, holy, loving, forgiving, free and the list goes on. But I don't think many of us live out of that identity on a daily basis. Why?

Because there is a twist. And that twist is sin. Sin has given us a new description of who we are. Remember, sin is anything that opposes God, either through our heart or our actions. Instead of freedom, we are burdened by the ugliness of who we are now in light of what we thought we were. And because God opposes sin, we deserve His wrath. Romans says that "the wages of sin is death." Not simply a physical death, because we will all die, but a spiritual death which is seperation from God for eternity.

Thankfully there is another twist. Graciously Jesus took on the weight and the payment of our sin to the cross and conqured death. Jesus took the wrath of God to give us life. Take a look at Ephesians 2:4-8:

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Through Christ alone, he gives us a new identity, actually he gives us our old identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” The old identity is gone, the new identiy, the one you had a creation is the one you should be living in. And because of Christ's activity in the world and our lives Ephesians 2:10 nails who we are, “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Who am I? I am "in Christ" and if I am in Christ the picture is, I am clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:26-27) and if we are clothed we should be wearing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and then some (Colossians 3:12).

Who am I?

I am in Christ, living each moment as Christ is living through me with grace, kindness, gentleness, compassion, humility and love in order to make a difference in people’s lives.

Who are you? Share with me your thoughts, struggles, questions as it relates to your identity and where it is found. Would love to interacte with you on this.

Experiencing God- His Activity

Do we recognize God's activity as a question or as a statement?

Is God active in my life? OR God is active in my life!

I think as much as we long for God's activity in our life, there are things within our life that hinder us from experiencing him on a daily basis. According to Isaiah, and then reiterated by Jesus in the book of Matthew 13:15-16, he shows us what that hindrance is:

“For this people's heart has become calloused; ‘they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' "

We have a hard time experiencing God in our lives at times, because our eyes are blinded, our ears are muffled, and our hearts are calloused. There are a variety of things that cause this to happen, but my challenge is more, how do we take the blinders off, how do we take the ear plugs out, and how do we soften our heart?

Two ways: Continual connectedness to God and a radical responsiveness to the moment. John 15:4-5 says,

"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

We need to be connected to the source of life and if we are, he will open our eyes, soften our hearts and take the ear plugs out of our ears. We stay connected by his word, prayer, and other disciples encouraging us.

As we become comfortable doing life with God, we begin to experience the power of his life flowing up into our often lifeless world – a power that brings peace even in the storm, a power that gives self control even when we’re angry, a power to live a life of freedom from the chains that enslave us, a power to develop deep authentic relationships, a power to love even the most difficult people and the power to experience joy in moments of each day as every moment of life becomes alive with new possibilities.

Right now, in this moment, are you aware that God is here and wanting you to experience him?

My challenge to you right now is, how do you see God active in your life? What moments, throughout everyday have you seen his activity in your life?

Experiencing God- God's Motivation

I would like to lead with a quote from Erwin McManus, in his book Soul Cravings:

I think many of us have rightly given up on God at times in our relationship. We’ve been told that God is a reluctant lover and that his standards must be met before there can be any talk of love. This is lunacy. Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love that we so desperately yearn for. God is not passive, for love is never passive, but always passionate and passion always leads to action.

God's motivation for us is LOVE, but we have gotten in the way of that love. We have convinced our selves that we are not worthy of His love, that we are too screwed up to receive any love, much less a love from the God of the universe. We are more driven to play a hopeless romantic version of love with a bouquet of flowers. With each pedal we pick, we simply ponder, "He loves me, He love me not, He loves me, He loves me not." And depending on how we finish the flower, will determine the love God has for us. For instance, “he loves me (because I said a kind word to my co-worker), he loves me not (because I cut off a guy and "pointed" at him in traffic), he loves me (I made it to church), he loves me not (I didn’t put anything in the offering plate), he loves (I called my mom on her birthday), he loves me not (I forgot my wife's anniversary).”

Romans 5:8 says it perfectly, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We don't have to get our act together for God to love us. God loves me personally, passionately, and longs for me to live out of that love.

My prayer for you, is that next time you pick up a flower and begin to wonder does God love me, the scenario would look like this: He loves me, He loves me, He loves me, He loves me . . . . . . . . . He loves ME.

God longs to be in a relationship with you because he loves you, are you willing to love him back?