Staying Centered on the Gospel | TheResurgence

I really enjoyed reading this this morning. Greear provides some great thoughts about how to enter into a day of living a gospel-centered life. You'll enjoy this!

Staying Centered on the Gospel TheResurgence

• Nothing I do today can make God love me more or less
• God's presence and approval is all I need to have joy today
• God's Word for me is true, His intentions for me are blessing....

Michelle

Many gods in San Diego

Every morning I drive by a large idol of Buddha. It's in a private yard just off the main street. At the "French" bakery this morning I bought croissants for our staff meeting (I try to be nice when really I'm feeling a bit grouchy - the good overcomes the evil) and there were Hindu gods at the cash register and over the door. And private homeowners are not allowed to have Bible studies in their homes without a major use permit or they'll get fined. (I realize that's a bit of an oversimplification - there are parameters and issues about size, parking, etc). Churches in San Diego are regularly denied the possibility of buying property.

Our City needs Jesus. Our City needs Pastors and churches to stay, to continue, to stand and not give up. Our City needs Christians to permeate and influence and flavor society. Where is there evidence that we are here? (Thanking God right now for the crosses on our hills that have been hard-fought for).

Let's lift up Christ. Let's let our light shine. Let's be salty and relevant. Let's love, and learn how to love, our City.

Let's not waste our time in-fighting. Let's not waste our time figuring out how people are wrong, but let's let it be known God is right. Declare the goodness of God! Declare His goodness in your life, tell of His wonderful love! Let it be known who He is and what He has done. Don't let the hinderances and obstacles stop us from BEING CHRISTians. Love Him. Live Him. Share Him.

Christians, Community, Barriers, $.....

I've got a lot of thoughts percolating about being a Christian, church, and living like a Believer. Since I don't know exactly what I want to tackle first, I thought I'd just hit on the thoughts and see where it will develop later...sorry, but bullets help me order my thoughts....

• Lots of talk about "community", what constitutes community, how it achieved/maintained, how it is redefining (potentially) the "church" as we know it. I actually love this line of discussion, and think it's essential for Christ-followers to consider. Things to think about: letting go of traditional church structures; accountability and discipleship; roles and relationships; mission-reaching the lost....One question I have is that time is short and so many people are yet to be reached for Christ - does "community" focus on the believer or can it be intentional and purposeful about introducing others to Christ?
• Barriers that exist not just between believers and non-believers, but between Christians! Had some amazing conversations these past months with people from different denominations who have amazing hearts and passion for God, and discovered the barriers we had in communicating (to our Christian brothers) by the words we used. Different definitions for words we commonly use. These men have both the fruits and the gifts of the Holy Spirit evident in their lives, and yet our words created barriers. So: do we shut off conversation because of words we use? Are we willing to converse and learn what our differences are so we can come together? Do we label things in a rigid manner that excludes others? (for example, we often say we are "spirit-filled" because we are baptized in the Holy Spirit and operate in the gifts of the Spirit. But all believers are "spirit-filled", and I know people who would never label themselves this way but who function in the gifts of the Spirit....I've found it is offensive to fellow Christians to say "I am spirit-filled", implying that they are not? Words, wording, definitions....). Do our labels, titles, words create unnecessary barriers between Believers, and what does that say to the world?
• Sectarianism. What an ugly word, yet it seems alive and well in church? Sigh. "I belong to this group or this stream" mentality. Holding up one over the other. Yet we are enjoined to lift up Christ - that's our standard. We can enjoy the particular communities we relate in, but can we do it without exclusion? How can we be many different parts of the Body without excluding or demeaning the value of the other? Many in the Body have been stung by rejection in this area.
• Politics, $, tradition: allowing either of these to get in the way of authentic relationship? Do I need to say anything?

Oh, that's enough of that for now. I'm excited about the future, actually. There is nothing better than being a follower-after-God, joining in on His plan for this party. I'm excited that when God wired me up for life, He gave me interesting thoughts to think, and I look forward to thinking them for Him. At least my thoughts interest me, lol! :)

And for the record, I love the church - it's His Body! I love the inter-connectiveness that that implies, and the life that is meant to flow from one part to the other. I love that it is an extension of HIM. How awesome is that?

Getting Mean and Nasty

Is it ever okay to be mean and nasty? Are we ever entitled to be rude? How about demanding or insensitive?

Sigh.

Yes, we can disagree, be disappointed even. We can have strong feelings and opinions. But love is not mean, nasty, rude, demanding, insensitive, negatively critical.....I am disappointed when I find such things in my own life, and it's a terrible disappointment when on the receiving end of it from Christ-followers.

Love lives a Spirit-controlled life, not allowing emotions to override us. Love listens and asks questions instead of passing judgement first. Love responds instead of reacting.

Do I always walk in perfect love? Nope. But I am constantly working on it.
God, give me patience to love those who are struggling with being unlovely, and to remember that they are on a journey as much as I am. As much as I need God's grace, God help me to extend it.

Let's keep the love.

Simplified Missional Living | TheResurgence

Living like a Christian in 2009. Great article, very accessible and do-able. Dodson shows us that living on purpose for Christ does not have to be complicated. Reaching out doesn't require a degree or special training. Just LIVE your life, don't let it simply happen around you, pulling you in its current. And I think you'll find you enjoy it a whole lot more. What do you think?

Simplified Missional Living TheResurgence

Could it be easier?

• Eat with non-Christians - flee the Christian sub-culture
• Walk, don't drive - engage!
• Be a regular - build relationships
• Hobby with non-Christians. Have fun, be yourself
• Talk to your co-workers. Work on mission
• Volutneer with non-profits. Serve your city
• Participate in city events, with the city
• Serve your neighbors - be creative

How could your life incorporate such changes? Is there one you could focus on right now to get the change started?

Young Love, Simple Love - Part 2

....so the journey continues.

During high school I was exposed to prophetic ministry, and was both amazed and scared by it. Thankfully, those I met were genuine and sincere in the Lord, and I only wanted to experience more of God’s voice in my own life. When I reflect on those times of my youth, it seems truly golden, simple and good. Relationship with God was a natural outflow of love.

Labels, Performance, Failures
I’ve thought a lot about the shift I experienced after high school. …..

The pursuit of Him became [unknowingly, innocently] a pursuit of outward manifestations. Perhaps that’s a bit strong of a statement – I still was after Him – yet as I gained “knowledge” of the gifts of the Spirit, and I wanted to grown in them, I unconsciously began to inventory those things in my life. Where before it just was a part of my relationship with God, it then became something I was aware of, conscious of. With this knowledge came judgment. How was I doing? Did I measure up? Did it sound right, look right, etc. The shift was gradual. At times I was surrounded by other young people, passionate for God, reveling in discovering and moving in the gifts God had given us. Unfortunately, being my own harshest critic and judge, I continued to compare myself. Relationship was becoming performance.

How often have we seen someone gloriously come into relationship with God only to become consumed with wanting to experience His gifts. Learning about them, pursuing them, receiving prayer, sometimes tying themself up in a knot to somehow “earn” the gift or "learn" the gift. “If I just do this or that, I’ll have this gift in my life”. As humans we are very comfortable with formulas. 2+2 = 4. That never changes, it’s dependable. Wouldn’t it be great if God worked that way? If we could just jump through this hoop, say these words, in this manner, it will all “work”. Create this atmosphere, play this music, act this way….”Genuine Holy Spirit ministry” looks like ABC. Yet I can’t help but remember….

Walking in the love of heavenly Father, without reproach, free from the burden of sin and thankful for His hand in mine. Living daily in Him. My words and actions informed not by books I had read or words people spoke, but by my simple relationship with Him. He had created me and He knew how to speak my language! I understood His voice without question. I just LIVED in Him.

THAT is beautiful.

All else pales in comparison. It's hollow and exhausting and utterly disappointing otherwise.

How do we lead others into the simple love relationship? I think that is His job. We give opportunity as it comes, as we follow Him in daily life. It’s not contrived, but free. We join together and worship Him. We hear His word together, and we go on our way, living it out. Living it out in daily life. I'm not saying we forgo being intentional about sharing Jesus, but I'm saying that it needs to flow from our relationship with Him.

Can we go back? Can we rediscover such simplicity? I think we can. Maybe if we just let go of all the voices saying “do this or do that”, and simply follow Him.

I am so thankful for all the Christian Sunday School teachers, pastors, and family who have spoken the Word into my life, explained it, lived it, prayed it. For friends who have stretched me in my faith, stretched me in grace. This is not a solo journey we are on, and I continue to believe in the essential of community in this journey. That’s where I was introduced to Him and inspired to seek more of Him.

Have you had some of these struggles?
Where are you on your journey?
What questions does it bring up for you?

Young Love, Simple Love - Part 1

Been thinking about my faith journey, and it's a long conversation, so I'm going to break it into parts....there's a place I am trying to get to in the conversation, so if you feel like bearing with me....

Confessions of a Believer

I came to the Lord at a young age. It was during a Vacation Bible School that our church hosted during the summer. We gathered for songs, Bible stories, crafts and snacks, and each day there was an opportunity for us to ask Jesus to be the Lord of our Life. I remember the absolute “yes” in my young heart – I wanted Jesus in my life. I responded every day to the altar call, each day passionate to put my hand in His. A kind volunteer took me aside to explain that I only needed to respond one time, that was all it took, but I didn’t care – I wanted to say yes again!

I was an avid reader, so reading the Bible was a pleasure. My mother’s parents gave me my first Bible, a New American Standard version with a puffy brown cover with fancy gold lettering on it. I loved it! I read as much of it as I could. On Sundays I watched and listened in awe as people began to speak in tongues during the services. I was particularly impressed with the Pastors wife, Mrs. Barr. She was like a machine gun, just rattling out this strange yet wonderful language in quick succession….oh, how I wanted to speak in tongues! I read in the Bible about the Holy Spirit, and one quiet day I sat alone in our living room, a patch of sun surrounding me, my Bible on my lap when I asked the Holy Spirit to fill me up and give me this prayer language. I began to speak in tongues on that day, and all I did was ask. God was so good to my young and trusting heart!
Without comprehending what I was doing, I began to experience the flow of the Holy Spirit activated in my life. With my sister, we had “Bible studies” under the playground tree, inviting our friends to hear stories about Jesus. We prayed for a miracle multiplication of cookies in our class one day, (no child wants to be the one responsible for not having brought enough for everyone), and we ended up with leftovers! Several times we had the opportunity to share Jesus with friends on the sports bus, to answer their questions and pray with them. One friend grew up and gave her life wholeheartedly to the Lord. I ran into her in my early 30’s, and she was married to a Christian man and they were serving in youth ministry at their church. God is so good! So often I found myself being faced with people coming and sharing their hearts with me and I would have words of comfort of encouragement for them, even words of discernment or knowledge. This could happen in the cafeteria, on the school bus, at band concerts, after sports games….it was just a regular part of my life. I had no idea there was a name for what I was doing, there was no label, it was just the life flow of the Spirit of God flowing through my heart. I loved God and He loved me! .........more coming

Help for When Your Anxious

I read this article last week....here's an excerpt. Centuries have gone by....nothing new under the sun!

“As we’ve seen, anxiety arises from an excessive desire to be freed from pressing evil or to obtain some hoped-for good…..Whenever you urgently desire to escape from a certain evil or to attain a certain good, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit. Steady your judgment and will, then go quietly and easily after your goal, taking all the appropriate means to attain it.

By “easily” I don’t mean “carelessly”, but rather without hurry, trouble, or anxiety. Otherwise, instead of obtaining the goal you seek, you will hinder it, adding more and more to your perplexities.

Examine yourself often, at least every morning and night. If your soul has become anxious, make it a priority to bring it quietly back into the presence of God, placing all your hopes and affections under the direction of His holy will.

When you become aware that you are growing anxious, commend yourself to God, as the Apostle Paul urges, and resolve firmly not to take any steps whatever to obtain the result you desire until your disturbed state of mind is altogether quieted. Of course, this is the approach to take uness it’s necessary to do something without delay. In that case, you must restrain yourself from acting impulsively, even when you must act immediately.

Frances De Sales 1567-1622, a bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, was well known as a preacher and writer.
.Discipleship Journal, May/June 2009, Issue 171, “Soul Disturbance”, p. 66

• I love that he talks about waiting on the Lord AND going after your goals. We tend to think that "goals" are new, are business....yet this preacher, hundreds of years ago, gets it!
• I also love that he talks about taking "appropriate means" to attain your goal - go after it! People think waiting on the Lord is inactivity, waiting for God to move, to drop the answer from the sky, into the lap....yet we have to move forward, take a step.

Did you like this?

The Life Church Rocks!

Wow. I am sitting here this morning amazed at the light that shines out of the people I do life with. There is such immense faith, creativity and courage in their hearts. Their response to hard things emboldens me, lifts me up. How do they respond?

• Quickly and postively
• Creatively
• Strategically
• Seeing beyond the moment to the future
• With vision and passion
• Tenacity
• Courage
• Not looking behind

There is such love in the heart of our church family, amazing, courageous, stalwart love. WOW! I am especially grateful for those who see beyond, who have caught something in their spirit for the future. Thank you, God, for this amazing group of people we call The Life Church!