Home In Love

So I got an encouraging email from a friend yesterday, and in it he encouraged me to to go on a new journey with the Lord of not working for Him, but walking with Him. It got me thinking of how sometimes, ( well most of the time), all us disciples of Jesus strive so hard to please Him and have a good performance here on planet earth. We spend our time, energy, and money on leadership training classes, new study guides, 12 step better christian programs, and so many other things that are suppose to keep our passion burning for Jesus. When in truth Jesus, already gave us the clear one step program to remain passionate and in love with Him. Check out John in the Message Bible:

I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. - John 15:5

Then skip a few verses:

I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done—kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love.
- John 15:9-10

Instead of trying to accomplish a great work on our own, we must abide in the Love of Christ. It's an amazing invitation from the Lord to make ourselves at home in His Love. So do this one thing with me this week...Instead of trying to accomplish some "great" work for the kingdom, lets focus on resting and abiding in the Love of the Father. Lets change our focus from changing the world to being great Sons & Daughters. Think about how we act when we are at home:

we are relaxed, take our shoes off, have no pressure to perfrom, we catch up on our favorite shows, waste hours on facebook, we sing out loud in the shower...WE ARE FREE!!!

This week lets just spend time at HOME in the love of Daddy. Be carefree, take your shoes off, hang out on facebook with Jesus...make our goal spending time with Him...and out of abiding in His love....We will all change the world naturally, the way Jesus did!

GRACE!

A Different Kind Of Sacrifice

I was reading the book of Hebrews in The Message the other day and I came across this amazing verse:

Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. - Hebrews 13:16

The writer is encouraging us not to become lazy in working for good, and to not take what we have inside for granted. We as the people of God are called to share what we have with all those around us. God has deposited a love and power in us that the world is in desperate need of. I think for far too long the body of Christ has locked themselves behind fancy buildings and theology. The heart of God is that we would encounter people where they are at, not wait for them to enter our meeting places. The verse says God takes pleasure in acts of worship in places that we take for granted everyday. Places like, the kitchen with family, the workplace with co-wokers and customers, and the streets filled with strangers. We all pass by people on street corners and resteraunts everyday. I want to encourage you along with the writer of Hebrews today to not take for granted the common situations you are in daily, and to share the goodness of God today. Lets offer God a different kind of sacrifice, ones that cost us 10 more minutes at Starbucks because we are praying for a stranger. Ones that cost us being a few minutes late to work because a stranger needed help beside the road. Sacrifices that cost us missing our favorite show because our kids need prayer.

Be strong today and walk in the full glory of God. I pray that you do not take the life God gives you for granted, may you all experience the fullness of His grace today!

GRACE and LOVE!!

Letting God Decide

I have been reading 1 Corinthians the past few days and came across these amazing few sentences in Chapter 4.


It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment.
So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of—inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (The Message)

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 (NIV)

I love how Paul says that he does not even judge or rank himself. He literally leaves all judgement to God. I think that so many times we as believers find ourselves fighting for a higher ranking in the church world, or to become the best at what we do. In our stride to become top notch we tend to look at those around us and begin to compare ourselves. Then one of two things occur...we either judge them by there shortcomings, or we judge ourselves because of our lack.

What Paul is stressing here is that we are not to rank ourselves or others at all. We are to leave all the ranking to God. Our job is to love God and to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. Only God knows the hearts and motives of people. We are not to assume that someone deserves punishment because there is sin in thier life...they might be on their face daily praying to overcome...likewise we cannot rank others as "good" because thier life looks all clean and tidy...they may have not relied on God for anyhting. The point I want to encourage you with today is...Don't be too hard on yourself or others. Live in peace with all, and extend Grace and Love to those around you. If a friend is struggling...reach out a helping hand, don't pass judgment because "you would never do that". WALK IN LOVE AND LET DADDY GOD HANDLE REVEALING OUR HEARTS.

GRACE AND LOVE!!

Getting Raw

Webster Defines the word Raw as: being in or nearly in the natural state : not processed or purified, not diluted or blended, unprepared or imperfectly prepared for use, not being in polished, finished, or processed form...

Wow! What if we came to God that way everyday..RAW. I know in my own life that there have been times that I feel guilty for not being all put together and polished. The enemy beats me down with accusations of not being a good example, or still having struggles in my life. The truth is that God desires us to be naked before Him. To not put on nice clean clothes of religion, but to come before Him RAW, unprepared, and imperfect. Because in the place of naked honesty we realize despite all our impurities Daddy loves us. That in our weakness His strength really is shown in us. When you look at the people Jesus ministerd to...not one of them had there stuff together...One woman was caught in the act of adultery and drug before Him naked, and what does He do? In her nakedness and unprepared state Jesus grants her mercy and hope and she becomes a disciple. (John 8:3-11)

The woman at the well was in adultery and had been divorced several times, yet Jesus goes out of His way to meet her, and set her free from guilt, and turns her into an evangelist that changes an entire city. (John 4)

The point is that I want to encourage you today to be honest before God. Be RAW before Him. Don't pretend to have all your junk together...be open with the struggles you are going through and the sins you are overcoming...Let the love of God pour over you in your weak un-polished state, and let the Grace of God encourgae you to overcome today. I leave you with this thought..here is what Jesus thinks about the whole issue of being RAW and honest before Him:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

- Luke 18:10-14

The World, Really?

The most taught scripture in Sunday Schools, Bible Clubs, and VBS's around the world has to be John 3:16. Every kid who attends church between the ages of 5 and 12 have learned this verse. Yet, it puzzles me that despite all the memorization very few people truly believe what it says...


This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. - John 3:16-18 (The Message Version)

Does that really say that God loves the world? Because if it does that would be a pretty liberal statement. The truth is that God truly does love the world; so much that He gave His Son over to death and punishment for it. It seems like all we have done in Sunday Schools is taught kids the importance of memorizing scripture, but not imparting the revelation behind the words they are reading. We must take time to let the word develop in us and allow Holy Spirit to reveal truth to us. This verese makes is it so clear that God loves the world and made a way to have the world despite all the wickedness and sin. God sees past the sin and sees the treasure within every man woman and child on the planet. Sin isn't an issue for God becaus He dealt with the sin of the entire earth when He crushed His Son on Calvary.

Still so many voices out there that have grown up in churches all over the world memorizing scripture know John 3:16 by heart, yet they still proclaim that the world deserves judgement for it's sin and wickedness. They release prophetic words of doom and destruction and call it the discipline of God. When in truth Jesus took all punishment for the sins of the world. Every person on the planet is covered in the blood of Jesus...just not all of them know it yet. Beloved it's time we seek revelation on the way God loves the people of the world, and we share the message of hope and salvation. No more judgment talks and scaring people out of hell and into heaven. Lets preach love, and watch as the enter into a relationship with God through love and appreciation. Lets preach the truth of John 3:16

GRACE!!!

Good News

So I was thinking about how much God loves the world. He gave everything to have it, and He is still reachng out today. It's not like Jesus died, so that was God's one shot at gaining mankind. It was the price it took to make mankind available to Him again. We get to partner with God everyday to reach out to the world around us and share the good news with them that God has an open hand to them.

We were in Red Robin yesterday for lunch and this waiter kept walking past us. The Lord gave Krista a word for him, but since he was so busy she wrote it down as a note for him, and as we were leaving handed him the note. Nothing huge right? Just a simple note saying that God knew where he was and that he had an incredible destiny. Friends changing the world is that easy... to share the good news of God's love and grace with those we come in contact with everyday.

Jesus paid the ultimate price to gain this world that he loves desperatley. Lets partner with him today and share the good news of love to people that are hurting..look past all their sins, because thats what God does...Let us be a people that see people by their destiny and the true price that Jesus declared they are worth. No matter what they look like, or what sin they are in....lets share love and grace!

Power Instead Of Theology

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Paul lays it out pretty clear here that we need not rely on our knowledge and ability to preach a good five point sermon to reach a people. We must like Paul forget everything that theology has taugt us and rely on nothing other than the truth that Jesus died for the sins of the world. I think sometimes we give Paul all this credit for being such a good theologian, yet Paul himself said that only relied on the message of God's grace and on the demonstrion of God's power. I don't belive that Paul would hold himself to the title of greatest apostle ever as so many in the church do. I believe that Paul would hold Jesus above himself, and encourage us to go for the same things he(Paul) did. We use paul as an example of how to be a great preahcer and church starter, yet Paul was just trying to follow the life example set by Christ to accomplish all his work. He knew nothing except Christ crucified. He was weak and fearful when he preached. He needed God to show up and move in power, or he knew his message was useless.

Paul was just like us...not a Super Apostle that had access to greater revelation than we do. I believe if we, like Paul, humble ourselves before the Lord and simply move in Love and Grace, then we too can have the same impact on the world. The first step is to admit we don't "know" enough and we can't preach good enough to change anything. We must rely on God alone, and we must cry out for a demonstration of His Power! If there are no signs and wonders following our mnistries, then we have to question what God we are really serving. Because the God of Jesus, and Paul always moved in Power. Theological preaching must end, and Love and Power Preaching must begin!