core training

I have a weak back. I injured it 10 years ago while working at Menards as a Department Manager for the Millwork Department. There were several factors that contributed to my injury but probably the most significant was that my core was weak (and it still is). I typically tell the story about how people didn't show up to work that day and how another person was late and how this morning was exceptionally busy compared to the previous morning. Truth be told, those situations only contributed to the results but were not the cause.

The real reason that my back was injured that morning was because I did not continually strengthen my core. I know this information is nothing new, right? Don't we all really know this stuff? It's like we have this nagging voice in our heads telling us to "eat less and move more" but we just put it off. Well, maybe you don't but I do. How many commercials do you see in a year that advertise that their new contraption can give us "rock hard abs"? It seems like we have an obsession for a strong core but how many of us actually do this?

I sustained an injury knows as a vertebral subluxation of the L3 and T5 (I think- close enough anyway). Those vertebrae were twisted and cocked at angles that caused me a LOT of pain. To this day, I can't sit in one position too long. Yuck.

After my injury, I had several treatments to help me rehabilitate towards some semblance of having a healthy back. During one of those visits I experienced something that really impacted my way of thinking and relating to a life of following after Jesus. Ironically, I have heard Erwin McManus tell a similar story as it relates to his own back injury and treatment which validated my experience.

Here was my experience...

I remember one particular appointment that I had with my chiropractor during one of my rehabilitation visits about a year after my initial injury. I was complaining of the usual lower back pain (L3) and he felt around assessing my back. After evaluating the situation by making noises like "Hmm" and "Uh huh," he then asked me to lay on my back and felt around on my stomach. That didn't make much sense to me. The pain was in my lower back. I'm not a doctor but I do know how to listen to others when they tell me where it hurts. What the heck was he doing?

Now this next part made me almost pass out. Almost. He zeroed in on one of my abdomen muscles and told me that he was going to apply "some pressure" to that particular area. For the record, his idea of "some pressure" and mine are nothing alike. He then proceeded to thrust his hand into my stomach as if he were going to reach up into my body and pull out my lungs.

It. Hurt.

I looked up at him timing this medieval torture method on his watch but I am sure he was just waiting for me to yell out, "Mercy! Mercy!" After what seemed to be an eternity, he told me the 30 seconds were up but that he was going to do it again and I needed to rest for a minute. Why is it at this point most doctors ask us how we feel? I wanted to respond that I was about to kick him in the throat if he did it again... but I contained myself by playing it tough and uttered, "Uh, that kinda hurt to be honest."

He explained to me that the problem was not with my back this time. My problem was that my core was weak and that I needed to strengthen my core if I expected to live a healthy life. He proceeded to clarify that without a strong core I would live a life characterized by chronic pain and physical suffering.

The same is true of our Spiritual lives.

See, my problem was not that I was lazy, slothful or misguided. I was an active, energetic, motivated, and focused person. My problem was that I did not intentionally invest the time and effort into developing my core to strengthen my entire being. The difference is trajectory. Best intentions that do not result in action are just the whimsical wishes of a dreamer. We need to exercise our faith through our actions which then leads to stronger faith.

When was the last time you actually worked out and it was comfortable? Haven't we all exercised and it resulted in some pain? Isn't the popular saying for people who exercise, "No pain, no gain?"

Why all this pain? It is because our muscles are getting torn apart and rebuilt. Likewise, our own Spiritual growth as followers of Jesus will probably yield similar pain and discomfort if we are serious about pursuing after Jesus with our entire heart, mind, soul and strength. God typically exercises our faith through repetition of circumstances that develop a perseverance in our faith muscles so that we can grow to become the whole human that God originally intended for us.

I've quoted this verse a lot here at CiD, but look at how James puts it...

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4; italics added)

Paul also had something complimentary to say about this...

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; italics added)

We need to develop a Spiritual workout that brings us into close proximity to the God that made us as we pursue a life of faith in Jesus. We are responsible for creating the right type of environment to allow God through His Spirit to work in us and through us. That environment resides in our hearts and God uses the humble, seeking, and listening heart.

Additionally, I believe that it is beneficial that we know our strengths, personality type, and Spiritual gifts. It gives us a glimpse into the intricacy of how God put us together.

Here is how God has wired me:

Myers-Briggs: INFP "The Healer" or "Idealist" (personality assessment)
Introvert
Intuitive
Feeling
Perceiving

Golden: ENFZ (leadership and coaching assessment geared to discern career path)
Extrovert
Intuitive
Feeling
Organizing

DISC profile: I-Inspire (behavioral characteristics)
Influencing
Persuasive
Enthusiastic

Strengths Finder 2.0 (discovery of major strengths; identifies top 5 strengths)
1- Belief
2- Connectedness
3- Futuristic
4- Empathy
5- Individualization

Spiritual Gifts (a snapshot tool used to identify key Spiritual gifts)
Knowledge
Discernment
Teaching
Wisdom
Faith

Love Languages (the five love languages of how we receive love)
Acts of service
Words of affirmation

It is possible to strengthen your core Spiritually without knowing your strengths and personality type- that's not my point. However, it is far more effective to know how you are wired so that you may serve others and God well in a way that fuels you in your unique Spiritual giftedness. After all, our training should lead us to Jesus' mission for our lives; to rescue the hearts of mankind through serving and loving others because of our love for Jesus.

uneasy: he did what?

This is the second part of a series of posts entitled, "uneasy". I first introduced the idea by confessing that there are aspects of a life of faith in Jesus that really make my skin crawl as well as topics in the Bible that just don't sit well with me.

The short version of that post is this... Jesus said some really uneasy things about living a life that is characterized by significance according to God. You can read that first post HERE (uneasy: he said what?).

However, Jesus did not just talk about these things... He lived them and that's where we are going to continue this conversation. Let's get back into it, shall we?

Prophets for centuries proclaimed that a messiah or a christ would someday come from God to establish a new kingdom on earth. The word "christ" means "the anointed" or "appointed by God". The Jews believed through the prophets that this christ would bring about a revolution that freed people from the affliction of bondage.

Enter Jesus.

Jesus' birth and early years were characterized by numerous instances of the fulfillment of these prophecies. The authors of the first four books of the New Testament- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John- went to great lengths to enlighten the Jews and all who would listen that this Jesus fellow who claimed to be sent by God, who claimed to be the Son of God, who claimed to be "the Christ" actually was and is the promised messiah, the deliverer, the anointed one.

Time and time again throughout the accounts of Jesus life, Jesus told everyone that He was God; not that He knew God but that He IS God. This is really important to understand. This is why Jesus was killed. Jesus claimed that He re-presented God "in the flesh." He called Himself the Son of God and He proclaimed that God was His Father. In fact, according to the eyewitnesses, God announced at Jesus' baptism, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:16-17; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22)

To prove to any potential doubters that He was God, Jesus performed amazing feats of healing the sick, diseased, blind and crippled citizens of modern day Israel. Furthermore, Jesus cast evil spirits out of possessed people, brought people back from the dead, walked on water, controlled the weather with His voice, could multiply food, turned water into wine, could read people's minds and knew the motivation of their hearts. This is only scratching the surface of what Jesus did to "prove" very concretely to everyone that He was God.

Jesus taught in the Jewish "churches" (known as synagogues) with such authority that people would ask, "Who is this man?" He spoke as one who had actually seen heaven, the afterlife, and who had seen God. The religious teachers, called Pharisees (Jewish priests), were the most educated and devout followers of Jewish customs, laws, and rules. They knew the Bible (Genesis through Malachi) better than anyone else and yet they couldn't even win an argument with Him about spiritual matters or the teachings of the Bible. Jesus constantly stumped them. No one had ever been able to do this to these very well educated "teachers of the Law."

Jesus' "resume" looks a lot better than mine. He brought healing to a broken world and re-established a disconnected humanity to their loving Creator through his life and death. His life fuels my passion to follow Him with my entire heart, mind, soul and strength; to be reconciled to, reconnected to, re-accepted by God through Jesus. However, it is not His numerous accolades that make me uneasy... it's how he lived His life.

Jesus was famous for telling people to "come, follow me," (Matthew 4:19; Matthew 8:22; Matthew 9:9; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; Matthew 19:21; Mark 1:17; Mark 2:14; Mark 8:34; Mark 10:21; Luke 5:11; Luke 5:27; Luke 9:23; Luke 9:59; Luke 9:61; Luke 14:27; Luke 18:22; John 1:43; John 10:27; John 12:26; John 21:19; John 21:22). What does it mean to "follow" Jesus? What implications does this have for my life? What is the cost?

Jesus showed us what living a life in perfect connection to God is like; this is what makes me uneasy.

Jesus did not live a life of comfort. He did not live a life of acceptance. He was not successful by today's standards. In fact, by our American standards, He failed and failed miserably. Just look at His life. He came to start a Spiritual revolution and ended up getting killed. That's not good. Granted, He came back from the dead... and that's pretty good by anyone's standards. However, He left the fate of His entire movement in the hands of fishermen, tax collectors, and cowards.

Jesus was...
homeless (Matt 8:19-20)
rejected (Luke 9:22-23)
beaten (Matt 27:30)
mocked (Mark 15:20)
flogged (Mark 15:12-15)
arrested (Mark 14:45-46)
overwhelmed with sorrow (Matt 26:38)
abandoned (Matt 26:55-56)
betrayed (Mark 14:41-42)
killed (Luke 23:44-46)

Sometimes I read this short (incomplete) list and I think, "Well, He was God. He can handle it," but that would deny Jesus of His humanity. While it is true that Jesus was/is God, He was/is also a human. A real, live, flesh-and-blood human. All too often I read the Bible with super heroes in mind; like Jesus was Superman or Neo or Peter Petrelli. I am pretty sure that this affliction sucked and that Jesus felt the full weight of the pain that He suffered. Think about it, when was the last time you sweat blood during a prayer? Hmm? Me neither.

In fact, it is this topic that had me thinking the other day... "If Jesus was God's son, then by our typical way of thinking He should be the favorite, right?" How many times have we heard our friends or own family members tell us that "so-and-so" is the favorite son or daughter or grandchild or niece or cousin? Haven't we all heard this before? Maybe you were the favorite. Maybe you weren't the favorite. Where do you think the saying, "Redheaded stepchild" comes from?

We play favorites. Let's just be honest about that for a moment. We all hate it but yet we all tend to do this. It may be subtle and we may be able to hide it by being socially proper, but the truth is that we all play favorites. Doubt it? When was the last time you hugged a random stranger? When was the last time you hugged that nagging person that makes your skin crawl who hates you and who always insults you? When was the last time you hugged that person who always asks for money on the street corner? Me neither. We're in the same boat. We love the people who love us. (see what Jesus had to say about that HERE.)

Here's the point.

The Bible clearly states that when we confess with our mouth that Jesus is God and believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead that we are then saved from eternal separation from God are then made right with God through our trust (faith) in Jesus. The Bible goes on to teach us that we become adopted sons and daughters of God. How awesome is that! This is great news, but this gets to the crux of my dilemma. Look at how God allowed His own son to be treated. He allowed Him to suffer and endure pain; a ton of it. I don't know any human who would actually choose do endure such pain and suffering unless there was something more to the story. How about you? Luckily for us, there is more to this story... but more on that later.

Let this marinate in your heart and mind if you are someone who is choosing to live a life of faith pursuing Jesus- why should our experience be any different than that of Jesus' (in regard to pain and suffering)? Why would we expect to live any differently? What must you do to passionately pursue Jesus even if it means enduring pain and suffering (i.e. social uneasiness, financial uncertainty, relational stress, etc)? How should you adjust the trajectory of your life to better match that of Jesus'?

Next up, a lesson in truly embracing this calling of Jesus- a look at what the disciples did. Stay tuned...

rich people go straight to hell, do not pass go

Yeah, that title had me too.

At first I was thinking, "What?!? Did someone actually just write that as a title to a chapter in their book?" The answer is, "Yes."

The book is "Wasabi Gospel" by Shawn Wood and it is available TODAY for preorder (check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/entity/-/B001JSAWAU).

This chapter rests pretty much dead center of the book but packs one heck of a punch! In fact, I sent out an update on Twitter saying that "Wasabi Gospel" is a "kick in the teeth & upper cut to the lung."

The main premise of the title "Wasabi Gospel" by Shawn Wood is that Jesus said a lot of kick-your-butt-and-slap-ya-silly types of things that we very easily skim right over without paying attention. However, just like a small amount of wasabi can send your senses reeling, Shawn describes Jesus' words as wasabi for our soul. He states, "I was studying the Bible, just minding my own business, when a small, innocent, seemingly insignificant, cute little dollop of scripture I had read many, many times before became a concentrated, power-packed, punch-you-in-the-gut, life-altering experience."

After reading that introduction, I decided I had to know what the heck Shawn meant by "rich people go straight to hell, do not pass go."

I soon tasted the wasabi of Jesus' words.

After a brief, topical set up through the life and musings of a fictional character, Laura, Jesus' words ring out like a cathedral bell echoing through time. This particular chapter starts with this quote from Mark 10:24-25:

"The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, 'Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'"

Shawn goes on to describe who is considered rich but there is no need to look any farther than my previous posts (here and here too). One of the things that Shawn said that keeps haunting me is, "Apparently my dishwasher decided to break. Annoying, yes, but not a big deal. Until I realized that I would not have a dishwasher for a couple of days. How would the dishes get clean?"

I've been there. How about you?

The first apartment that my beautiful bride and I lived in after getting married had a dishwasher that did not work and I had that exact same thought. We had no idea what to do. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Shawn goes on to say, "Dishwashers, now that's a rich person's problem."

He had me. Maybe it's not a dishwasher for you. Maybe it's the air conditioning or your car or the internet not working or bad cell phone coverage... you get the point. All of these things are rich person problems and we are all rich people. You may not feel rich but you are and so am I.

Shawn goes on to identify why we are in this predicament and then dissects this story that Jesus tells as recorded by Luke:

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21)

This "Wasabi Gospel" thing was really starting to burn. I've been there too. I've been the guy who made more money one year and decided that it was time for a bigger TV or more furniture or better cars or a vacation. Who in America hasn't really? Isn't that the American dream?

But what if that is exactly what Jesus is talking about? What if Jesus is telling us how not to live? How are we living with an eternal perspective to live out God's dream in rich America?

This chapter was eye-opening and heart-convicting. In fact, most of "Wasabi Gospel" is like this. I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to really begin to understand why Jesus' words were so revolutionary. I hope that you buy this book and read it. I hope that it shakes you up. But most of all, I hope that you encounter Jesus with a new found passion and willingly chase after Jesus with your heart on fire.

Time for me to go find a spicy tuna roll with a side of wasabi...

For more information about this book or about Shawn Wood, please visit the following:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/entity/-/B001JSAWAU

www.wasabigospel.com

www.shawnwoodwrites.com

www.twitter.com/shawnwood

www.facebook.com/shawnwood

uneasy: he said what?

There are things about the Bible and Jesus that I just don't like.

Can I just admit that?

There are aspects of living as a committed follower of Jesus that makes my skin crawl and my stomach turn. It is much easier for me to talk about loving God and loving people through grace and love; the warm and fuzzy stuff, if there is such a thing. I would much rather be discussing how to combat social injustices and encourage spiritual development than have this conversation.

But this is important and necessary.

In fact, this is so important that I am going to be covering this topic in three dedicated posts to help answer the content presented here or, at the very least, hopefully make a lot of people uncomfortable and uneasy.

I have been discussing the elements of this post for several days on Twitter, Facebook, with Gateway pastors and with my friends. I don't like this part of following Jesus and you may not either... but this is the reality of anyone who willingly chooses to let Jesus lead them in all areas of their life.

The problem is pain and suffering. Well, it's more than that. The problem is also being hated, mocked, oppressed, harassed, teased, offended, wronged, verbally abused, and socially rejected. These are some of the trials we endure in life and this list is in no way exhaustive.

I hate it. Part of me really wants to be comfortable and accepted. I don't want to hurt. Are you with me on this? Can't this be optional? How come we suffer?

I started this conversation with a tweet via Twitter that said the following:

"Question: is it possible to grow spiritually without trials? Why or why not?"

Here are some of the responses that I received on Twitter and Facebook:

"spiritually grow? Yes and no not everyone goes through them but still grow how you handle it is how you grow."

"Personally, I think trials are like exercise. W/out them we get lazy, weak, diseased, n lose capacity 2 walk."

"Nope...James 1:2-4"

"Nope. Read CS Lewis' "The Problem of Pain". Not as good as James 1, but profound nonetheless."

"'NO PAIN GO GAIN!' Christ is there for the broken man!"

This is obviously just several opinions but it seemed to track with some sort of pattern, minus one exception. Most people who decided to join in the conversation seemed to agree that the trials of life or seasons of hardship/pain/suffering seem to be pivotal in experiencing a deepening of faith in Jesus.

Now, the danger of basing your entire view of trials based on other's opinions is that they do not have the authority that the Bible has when it comes to living a Christ-like life. Therefore, if we are pursuing a life that is pleasing to God, worthy of Jesus, and deserving of our calling to be known as sons and daughters of God, then we MUST examine what God has to say to us in His own words, the Bible. Otherwise, we are creating our own religion...

So, how true is all of this? Is there some basis for this in scripture? How do trials, pain, suffering and social uneasiness relate to following Jesus? What harm is there in just focusing on good things and trying to avoiding pain/suffering?

If we are truly following after Jesus with our entire life and not just pursuing a godly and spiritual life, then we need to consider Jesus' thoughts on the trials. We need to examine what Jesus taught about who He considered to be His followers; the new life that He was offering. Additionally, we should consider what His closest companions thought; the people who walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus and lived a long and happy... um, er. Wait, it didn't go down like that for them.

Here is the part that I deem uneasy. This is the part that... well, quite frankly it scares the snot out of me!

Jesus said, "Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

“Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

‘I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Your enemies will be right in your own household!'"
(italics added- Matthew 10:32-26)

Wow.

Well that kinda sucks, huh? Jesus is telling His disciples that their closest relationships are going to get torn apart because they have chosen to follow Jesus. Notice that He is not telling them that this might happen. No. He is telling them to expect it and that it will happen because He has come to separate His true followers from those who are not His followers.

What does that mean to us? Our lives should be characterized by the same disruption as His disciples. Have you ever seen this in a family? I have. Maybe you are experiencing this right now. Maybe someone you know decided to check out this Jesus thing and now you hate them. Maybe your the person who decided to follow after Jesus and now you've lost cherished relationships with friends and family because of Jesus. Now they think you're a freak. Maybe you're into this whole God thing but have not encountered any problems. Maybe you're thinking, "There's no way God could have meant this for my life, could He? I thought that Christians had the good life! They're always talking about peace and love." That's partially true. An ever growing amount of peace and love should be more and more evident in someone who truly follows Jesus because of God's Spirit that comes alive in all them. But just gaining peace is not the point and the "good life" is definitely not the point either.

This all comes as a cost.

Jesus continues, “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." (italics added- Matthew 10:37-39)

More shock and awe from Jesus.

He is telling us that He must come first in our lives. This means that I need to love God and Jesus more than my mom and dad and sisters and wife and son. Jesus is first in my life; not them and not me. I need to be willing to choose His direction in my life even if it means death (whether physically, relationally or socially).

Does this bother you yet? If not, keep reading.

"Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?'" (Mark 8:34-36)

The cross today does not carry the same emphasis that it did back then. It is a trendy piece of jewelry or tattoo. Jesus' audience would have known exactly what He meant. More than the metaphor, this painted a very real verbal imagery in their minds as if He was telling them, "I want you to be ready to die the most horrific, humbling death in the known world, everyday." Oh, and by the way, this was before anyone saw Jesus get killed and have to actually carry a cross.

Look at the latter part of that passage. It's like Jesus is asking them, "What is the point to having your health, home, cars, 401K, happiness, nice house, and promotions if you lose your soul? What benefit is it really? Why sell out your soul to this world? Forget those things and follow me. Die to the desires for needing these things and follow me into a new life."

Die to desires. Die to "my way." Die to stuff. Die in order to live.

Can't this happen without pain or some type suffering? No. Not according to Jesus. Remember the two posts about blessings (here and here too)? Well, then consider this:

"Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."
(italics added- Luke 6:22)

Hate, exclude, insult, reject- why? For the sake of being one of those who call themselves a Christ-follower. Jesus had a good deal to say about all of this but let's just take a look at one more, shall we?

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (italics added- Mark 15:18-19)

I love how Jesus says this but the message itself makes me uneasy. Look at that again, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own." Jesus is telling us that the "world" hated Him first and that kinda comforts me knowing that He endured it first. However, those "worldly" people (who were also very religious in Jesus' day) mocked, beat and ultimately killed Jesus. Not good for the comfortable Christian life. Are you noticing that following Jesus, REALLY following Jesus is not comfortable? Notice too that there is a warning for us in there... the world would love us if we belonged to it.

Who around you hates you because of your pursuit and love for Jesus? Who around you loves you because you don't talk or act differently now that you have a relationship with Jesus? What do you need to change to be considered hated on account of Jesus?

What ever it is you need to change about your relationship with Jesus, go do it today. Always speak the truth; marinated in grace, motivated by love, empowered by the Holy Spirit for the sake of Jesus.

Stay tuned...

blessed too

In my last entry (click here), I pointed to a somewhat common way of thinking among Americans when we want to be blessed. I did a bit of research into wealth statistics and who is "rich" according to world standards. It was very revealing and convicting to me personally.

There's more to this story of who God considers to be blessed.

This post is as much a confession as it is a conviction.

My search for who God considers to be blessed started because of my current situation and season of life. As of this writing, I have been unemployed for 17 weeks. I have had 6 interviews. Three of my six interviews have had two conversations about potential employment. One of my interviews had THREE very good conversations about partnering together. In fact, the opportunity with three interviews was some of the best interviewing that I had ever done. It was a great experience... but did not end in my getting hired. I'm ok with that. I throw open the doors of opportunity seeking God's direction and He closes the doors giving me clarity to His leading.

However, these past 17 weeks have been teaching me how much I am one of the people who trust in their financial security sometimes more than God. I remember a time a few weeks ago that I was praying and seeking God, when I clearly heard Him ask, "Do you really trust me even if the money is gone or dwindling? Will you trust me to get you through this? Do you believe that I have a better plan?"

I have to admit that those words cut to my heart. I felt sorrow for my lack of faith in my wonderful God; the God that I love SO much. This motivated me to action.

"How could I be so shallow?" I thought... but He was right. I was ok with suffering this trial or season because the money kept coming in (which is a miracle by itself).

During this time frame, I had a conversation with a friend via Facebook. Their status update said something to the affect of "When will I stop suffering and get on to my blessings?" Again, this is not verbatim but it motivated me to uncover who God considers to be blessed. I have to be honest with you, I had that same thought last week. But then, I remembered my study about who is blessed and realized that I was blessed BECAUSE of this trial.

Allow me to contextualize this a bit. A man familiar with suffering in the Bible is Job (pronounced with a long "o"). He is wealthy. He is described as "blameless and upright." One day, Satan decides to go for a walk and ends up strolling up to God with the angels. God plays with him a bit and says something like, "Where did you come from?" Satan's like, "Oh, ya know, just wanderin' around a bit." Then God points out Job and praises him for his faith and trust.

Here's some of the conversation:

"Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:9-12)

This happened twice. The first time, Satan took his worldly wealth- family, home, livestock, employees ("took" is actually more like destroyed). The second time, Satan took away Job's health and gave him sores and sickness. Do you struggle with that a bit? I do. God allowed Job to be tested. God allowed bad things to happen to a good man. God did not cause the trial or hardship or pain. Why? God new that Job could handle it.

Consider this... "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

Couldn't this also read trials in lieu of temptations? Just prior to these verses, Paul is writing about how the Israelite's forefathers were tempted and fell away from God through their actions and their unfaithful hearts. Trials tend to give us opportunity to either stand firm under the pressure of the situation or to crumble to the temptations all around us. Trials are a testing ground of our character. While I'm at it, let me just clarify that God is much more interested in your character than your comfort.

Let's now see how Job responded:

"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (Job 1:20-22)

Wow.

God was right about Job.

I rarely respond like that. Typically I get pissed off or depressed when crazy stuff happens to me. I usually start questioning God about what I must have done to deserve punishment. It is as if I think my suffering is because I wasn't good enough or did something wrong. I am learning that the opposite is true. I suffer BECAUSE I am faithful to God not because I did something wrong. I think we as a Christ-followers need to emphasize more often that our trust in Jesus will not lead us into a comfortable life or wealth or health or happiness but it could actually lead us away from these things. Job responds this way, "His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' He replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said." (Job 2:9-10)

Excited about following Jesus? Probably not after that last paragraph, huh?

Wait, there's more.

This suffering through difficulties and hardships and trials are not for our comfort but our character. James, Jesus' brother, had to say about this: "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4)

This idea of joy in suffering I think directly relates to who God considers to be blessed. We are blessed because God is allowing our faith to grow which leads us to becoming "perfect and complete, needing nothing." Another way of translating the meaning of "perfect and complete" is "to be made whole."

This is a spiritual act of defiance AGAINST or in spite of our circumstances. The blessed are acting out their faith in God/Jesus empowered by the Spirit of God. It is proving that their faith is real. Paul writes to the believers at Corinth (in Greece), "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:6-9) .

The blessed are defiant; standing strong in weakness This is the life of a spiritually alive follower of Jesus. The blessed have a life of trials, hardships, pain, excitement, adventure and fulfillment. The blessed are rebellious to the chaos, turmoil and pain by finding peace in conflict, joy in suffering and love in brokenness.

This life of defiance is only possible through the power of Jesus alive in us through His grace and love. Are you one of the blessed?

blessed

Several weeks ago I decided to embark on a small journey through the Bible with one question in mind:

"Who does God consider to be blessed?"

As I began this journey and dug into the 222 references of who God considered to be "blessed", I started to ask more questions.

I wondered...

What does the homeless person pray for? What does the hungry person ask of God? Do you think that they asking to be blessed? What prayers do the rich pray? Who are the rich? Am I rich? Who is considered to be wealthy? How do their prayers differ?

I discovered that the worldwide median income is $9,875. Dang. I think I made that much when I was a Junior in High School! The median income in the United States is $44,155. Did you know that the United States owns 27.3% of the world's wealth and that the next closest country is Japan at 9%? To contrast that statement, the United States only accounts for 4.5% of the world's population. That means that less than 5% of the population of the world controls over 25% of the world's wealth. In real numbers, the US owns $13.2 trillion dollars and the top 10% of Americans control almost $4 trillion of that $13.2 trillion.

Isn't that crazy?!?

Where does that put you and me? Well, the median income for a family living in Austin is $54,091. Which means that the average family in Austin makes 22% more than the median American income. The number of Americans living below the median income per capita GDP in the US is 0.0574841 per 1 million people and the population of the United States is 306,686,840 (6.8 billion world wide). So that means that 1,762,850 people make less than $44,155 in the US which is still 4.47% more than the world average. Taking that one step further, if you make more than $44,500 you are in the top 5% of the world's wealthiest people. (Statistics source)

I mention all of this to say, Americans are blessed with unbelievable wealth and resources. When I set out on my journey to discover who God considered to be blessed, I ended up discovering the immense amount of economic, technological and industrial blessing that we enjoy as citizens of the United States are, as the CIA says it, "the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world."

Now, there is a plague in America that is rotting the core message of Jesus. This plague tells us that if we choose to follow after Jesus and give our lives to Him that we will be healthy, have wealth and live in prosperity. Americans already HAVE all of that! Heck, I even saw a billboard for a church in Austin that read, "God's will for your life is perfect happiness." That makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? It's like is they're preaching the gospel according to America!

But is that what Jesus REALLY taught us? Is that REALLY why Jesus died for me and you?

Take a look for a while at the picture below. This is who God considers to be blessed...

This is 50 of the 222 references to "blessed" in the Bible. Not every reference was about God considering someone blessed. However, there are about 95 or so verses where God directly called someone or some people blessed. Now, I did find one reference to "riches" and it read like this, "A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 28:20) So even this reference to being blessed is not monetary.

A rich man came to Jesus and questioned him about how to attain eternal life. Jesus told him to keep God's commands and the rich man told Jesus that he had kept them all. Jesus then said this, "Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'" (Matthew 19:16-24)

My quest to discover who God considered blessed opened my eyes to the blessings that are already mine. I am a rich man. I have been born blessed. It really seems like God's reality is in stark contrast to our world, doesn't it? The weak, the poor, the suffering, the humble, those who choose God, those who believe in Jesus, those who endure trials, those who do what God asks, those who do what is right, those who fight for justice, those who give, those who mourn, those who seek God with their whole heart- they are blessed! They are the one's who inherit Heaven. They are the one's who are God's children. They are the one's who find joy and peace and fulfillment!

Where does it say that we get wealth or health or prosperity or happiness? If God chooses to "bless" us with happiness or health or prosperity or wealth then it is for the purpose of using it for doing His work in this world. Now, I am not saying that we can't enjoy the good things that He gives us, because we can and we should. However, all of these good things are not the point. When we focus on getting more of the good things that God gives us instead of God, then we elevate the gifts above the Giver.

What if for a moment we imagined a world where the rich gave to the poor and fed the hungry and used their wealth to help those in need? What if that was the point to why there were rich in the first place? What if for a moment we envisioned only 5% of the $13.2 trillion dollars in America going to help the other countries where people are dying from lack of good drinking water or curable sicknesses or malnourishment? I bet we could end most of that in the next five years! We could choose to bring Heaven to earth in a tangible way. Who wouldn't want to follow after a God whose followers acted like that?

One last thought... if you are someone who listens to or follows after people whose messages mostly involve teaching about health, wealth and prosperity, please know that I am not making a judgment about those people. I don't know their hearts and it is only Jesus' place to make any judgment. What I do know is that it is best for us when we find a community of Faith that centers its teachings around the heart of Jesus. Jesus was always reaching out to the less fortunate, the diseased, the sick, the dying, the poor, the hungry, the swindlers, the prostitutes, the widows and the orphans. We should do the same. Jesus told us ,"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

John Piper...

creating a new world for humanity

This is a book review that I posted today on Amazon.com for "Peppermint-filled Piñatas" by Eric Michael Bryant.

Ever since reading the title of this book, it had my attention. The title alone made me wonder what laid waiting for me just underneath the cover. My curiosity to find out what exactly a “peppermint-filled piñata” was kept me wanting to make this a part of my reading list but it was the subtext to the title that made me dig in: breaking through tolerance and embracing love.

Interesting.

Tolerance is a big deal in our society- from the political to the personal; from our culture to our faith. But what on earth could this mean? What does love have to do with tolerance? How could this really make a difference in how we view others and our world?

So I gave it a go.

Diving into PFP, Eric quickly sets the tone of what he was about to unfold for the rest of the book. He immediately identifies the struggles and challenges that anyone who calls themselves a Christian faces along with all the stereotypes and intolerance of the Christian culture that has seemingly isolated itself from reality for far too long. Eric then gets to heart of the matter by challenging his reader with this thought, “deep down, we long to be a part of a loving and diverse community.” He asks us to learn and embrace “the art of woo.” Woo, as Eric describes it, is “winning others over.” Eric smartly identifies that “none of us truly long to be tolerated; we all long to be loved. Tolerance allows us to survive; love allows us to thrive.”

Peppermint-filled Piñatas is a journey towards learning to love well. It tells the tale of what a loving, caring person of faith looks like as lived out by the successes and failures of Eric’s own life. All throughout the book, Eric is giving us glimpses of a world that exists much different to our own while being rooted in our reality. He paints a picture of a world that no longer sees racial, economical, political, "ethnical" or cultural boundaries but rather strives to see all people as Jesus did; as humans who ultimately desire to be loved. He calls us to create this new world and live in it as humans who are willing to move toward other humans offering our friendship and love to each other because of Jesus’ love for us. Through the anecdotes of his life, Eric is showing us the love of Jesus and what an authentic Christ-follower’s life should look like.

If you are a Christ-follower, you need to read this book. If you are just checking out faith, I encourage you to read this book so that you too can see what following Jesus really looks like.

rear-view mirror

When I was in grade school a teacher once told me something that never really made sense to me. He said that we cannot drive our cars if we always look in the rear-view mirror. Honestly, it was a good analogy but the wrong audience.

For some odd reason, I've never forgotten that statement. In fact, when I was finally able to drive 5 years later, I set out to prove him wrong. That's just how I am. I test everything! I remember trying to drive through my subdivision using only my rear-view mirror as an indication of where I was going. That's not too hard to do if you drive really slow and know where you are. I only made it about a block before I panicked and had to look ahead.

I think many of us move through life this way. We have no intention of living like this but it just seems to be in our nature; it's natural. I especially think that this is true of Christ-followers. The world around us beckons us to live for the "right now", immediate gratification without regard for tomorrow or those around us. After all, why don't we just eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die, right? Besides, it only affects us anyway? Why should anyone really care?

I am about to tell you something really profound... it never affects just us. It affects everyone around us. So maybe that's not really profound but it is true. It has always been true.

For Christ-followers, we are challenged with living a new life. A life that we believe Jesus sacrificially died for so that we could live. The Bible mentions this over and over again. In fact, Jesus Himself said, "I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:5) Jesus also said that this requires us dying to ourselves; dying to our old way of doing things. He said, "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.'" (Mark 8:34-35)

This new way of living requires us to die, not change. Paul wrote, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:1-4)

Do you see it? We cannot change ourselves. We must choose death. We must die to our old ways and no longer live as we once did. That's hard! In fact, it's impossible... but that's the point. We cannot live this new life without Jesus. It just doesn't work. Which means that we need to very deliberately choose daily, hourly, moment-by-moment to live by the leading of His Spirit.

It is impossible to drive a car while only looking backward in the rear-view mirror without wrecking or hurting someone. We need to look forward. We only fool ourselves if we think we can continue to drive our lives by looking in the rear-view mirror. John, Jesus' closest follower, had this to say about it, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7)

Here's our calling, to live our lives in a new way as new creations. This does not happen overnight but it can happen quickly. How fast we become transformed depends on our willingness to give up our old ways; our old thinking, acting, speaking, living. We need to choose to live a renewed life. Romans 12:1-3 clearly states this, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

This does not come without hardship. In fact, I'd like to go on record for saying that choosing this new life will cost us. It will hurt. There will be blood, sweat and tears. It will feel like we are dying... and that's good. That is the only way that our new life can live.

Think about it like this...

Carpenters have an amazing craft! When building a home, they skillfully measure and cut the wood so that all the lumber that they have will fit according to the blueprint plans. I have yet to see a carpenter walk up to a pile of lumber and just start building without the use of nails or a saw. One problem... has anyone ever asked how the lumber felt? I know that I would not want to get cut or pounded with nails. However, cutting off the excess is necessary if the home is to be made complete and according to plan.

God is an amazing carpenter who has a blueprint plan for our lives. He needs to shape us into the new creation that we are called to be. This is going to take cutting out of the excess so that our lives will take the right shape. We cannot become the home for His Spirit that He envisions for us without the work of cutting, nailing and reshaping us.

I think James is trying to tell us this when he writes, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)

This is not like "Yay, God is allowing pain in my life!"

Rather, James is trying to tell us that "God has called [Christ-followers] to become mature and complete, as firstfruits of all he created. This is so high a calling and so valuable an attainment that we may consider even trials along the way pure joy!" (source)

Let us look ahead and not behind. Let us move beyond what we once were to what we are becoming. Let us look down at where we are walking and stop looking up. Let us rely on God and trust that He can transform us. Let us look out rather than in. Let us seek ways to help and serve those around us by putting our faith into action.

By the power of God's Spirit, by the grace of God, by the cross and resurrection of Jesus... there is a new life waiting for us to live. It is a gift, accept it... then choose to live like it is true.

one year later

They say that time flies when you're having fun.

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder.

They say that time heals all wounds.

Time is an odd thing, isn't it? We never have enough of it. The great times are always too short and the suck-tastic times are always too long. Time seems to stand still. Time is rarely on our side.

I am celebrating a point in time with this blogsite. One year ago I posted my first ever jaunt into the blogosphere with the goal of authentically and transparently sharing my heart and my life with anyone that would listen (i.e. read) with the purpose of directing you, the reader, towards steps of trust in God and Jesus.

How am I doing? Have I been successful? Good questions! I don't know that I care to explore those questions as much as I would like to share with you a snapshot of my life over the past year.

I will warn you. I am about to share some of my inward struggles. Just stay with me...

One year ago... I never wanted to go back to Illinois. Tough to read if you are one of my regulars from Illinois. I am genuinely sorry. This, however, was true of me a year ago. I had left some difficult relationships in Illinois and had zero desire to go back. Sounds like a typical, hypocritical Christian, huh? Yeah, I identified that in my own life and immediately repented to God for that disgusting heart condition... but I still didn't want to go even if I was sorry. I can be SO stubborn!

God revealed to me that if I let this heart condition continue that I would essentially "harden my heart" towards ever being able to love the "extra grace required" folks that I left behind. That did not sound good to me. I wanted to be able to love people well... but some have hurt me and it was really hard to love the seemingly unlikeable people. I wrestled with God for months about this and by September 2008, God had changed me. I returned to Illinois for a visit but it was hard. The relationships were tense and I was barely holding together. God pulled me through and I started learning how to love people who unknowingly vomit toxicity and brokenness all over me. Great visual, huh? My heart remained soft. I returned to Illinois in April 2009 and by God's strength in me I was able to engage everyone with a passion to love them because they existed and were created by God as a masterpiece.

One year later my heart has been transformed by God to love people better, even the unlikeable people.

One year ago... I had no idea what type of impact I wanted to make on this world. I had been in sales for over 12 years and woke up in October 2008 wondering what the heck I was doing with my life! I began the hard work of re-imagining my life. I questioned God about how He made me and what I was meant to do with this life. I dug deep into my past to recapture the dream that I once had to see if it was even applicable to who I had become. I questioned everything.

I humbly sought after God for the answers. The answers started coming to me in a trickle. Isn't that just like God? I mean. I want a flood of answers or some type of "Ah ha!" epiphany moment and He gives me hints... which kept me seeking... which kept me asking... which kept me chasing Him. I realized that the dream had never left me but I had left the dream. I was sleeping through life never waking up to the reality that who I was made to be was always before me.

February 2009 rolled around and I took some steps towards that dream trusting in God. I envisioned the most good that I could do for this world. I recaptured what my life would look like based on my skills and gifts if I was unleashed to express my full, God-given, creative potential. God revealed to me that heroic version of myself and told me to run after it with my life.

One year later my mission in life is clear and I am starting to dream Wide Awake. Here is what God revealed to me:

I am the Fire Wolf and my core mission as a cultural architect and futurist is to unleash people to live out their most heroic life by creating a culture that engages people’s hearts and minds in a conversation about God and faith allowing the Spirit to ignite within them a passion to pursue God.

Those are just two examples of what God has been doing in my heart and mind over the past year. I am more excited than ever to be able to write and share what He is doing in me and through me. It has been a long, hard road filled with trials, hardships, heartache, joy, peace, hope and love.

I can see the future ahead of me that I want to help create based on God's direction for my life and I cannot wait to look back a year from now to see all the good that He has done...

one year later.

we're all in this together

please watch.



i hope that this was as uncomfortable for you to watch as it was for me.

now what?

foggy confession

It has been a while since I've written.

I gotta be honest, I am wrestling with why I write and why/what I communicate. What is the purpose? What drives me to do this? What am I really trying to accomplish? What IS the point?

I am still wrestling.

I have not discovered the answer but the topic lies heavy on my heart.

I am in a fog.

I have several posts floating around my head and in my heart but they won't come out until God can give me some clarity.

For the record, I am not going to quit but I am doing a heart check.

If all you see here is me... then this blogsite is worthless. If this blogsite moves you to question, wrestle or seek out Jesus and God... awesome. If the ramblings of my life propel you to live out a life chasing after God with your all your heart, mind, soul and strength or seeking after Jesus with a renewed passion... great. That's the point. I am not.

Nothing I say here is of importance if I get the praise. I am not doing any of this stuff in my life but it is God working in me and through me. Don't miss that point.

File this post under transparent confessions of a recovering self-addict.

BTW- I will not be allowing any comments for this post. If your not sure why, please reread this post.

Peace.

see what Love has done

Today is Easter.

Today I am SO grateful that I get to celebrate the new life that I have because of grace and love; love SO amazing! I have been unleashed to truly live and this is only possible through the sacrifice that I do not deserve. I did nothing to earn this overflow of love but I accepted it as a gift.

I am able to live as I am intended to live- free. Free to love; not because I have somehow manufactured enough love to share but because I was first shown love which has been poured into me with super abundancy. Love more than I deserve but that I freely accept. I am learning to love well. I am learning to be loved and to rest in that love. I am learning to give this love away.

See what Love has done...

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (NIV)
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (NLT)

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through
Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NLT)
“Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift
is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.” (MSG)

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” (NIV)

1 John 4: 9-10 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the
world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not
that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to
take away our sins.” (NLT)

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (NIV)

Romans 10:13 “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (NIV)

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have
peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved
privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to
sharing God’s glory.” (NLT)

Romans 8:1-2 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And
because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you
from the power of sin that leads to death.” (NLT)

1 John 4:13 “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his
Spirit.” (NIV)


2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!” (NIV)

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law.” (NIV)

Mark 12:30-31 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your
neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV)

John 15: 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV)

Jesus accepted death so that I may live. He suffered beatings, torture and ridicule... on my behalf. He took what I deserved, death. Now, through Him, I live. Jesus then conquered death by God's power and he was made alive again. Through my baptism as a willing adult, I too have chosen to die with Him and have now begun to experience a new life through Him.

Maybe this is the first time you have read this. Maybe you have known this but for the first time it just seems to all make sense. Maybe none of this matters to you and none of this makes a difference in your life. Maybe this is already true of you life. Where ever you are in your faith journey, please know... it is for this Love that I write. It is because of Jesus' sacrifice and God's love that I have life and freedom. So it is with my life that I pursue Him because of what He has done for me.

If this has impacted you in any way, please consider talking to God with the following prayer... but don't just read it. Believe this with your heart and confess this with your mouth as a willing person ready to fully engage life as a person who gets a "do over" because of Jesus' sacrifice of Love for you.

“God, I know that I have sinned against you by doing life my way and that I am deserving of punishment. I believe that Jesus took the punishment that I deserved so that through trusting in Him I could be forgiven of all my wrongs. With your help, I place my trust in You and accept your gift of grace so that I may be made right with You. Today, I offer You my will for my life and want You to lead me in all areas of my life. Thank You for Your wonderful grace, forgiveness and love! Amen!”