I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You......

Yesterday, the 'picture' of God embracing us as His bride... as a Father to the fatherless... it was overwhelming, profound, and beautiful! It's amazing and unbelievable that the God of the universe wants me. He considers me to be beautiful. He is in love with me. I get to love Him back. That seems to be the only possible and sane response. I love you, God!

One thought will compel me this week. Tragedy is not the person who lives and dies with singularity of purpose (to glorify God and enjoy Him forever). Tragedy is the person who finds himself in the mire and has no sense.

May we come to our senses and pursue our God with abandon. To be prodigal is waste... extravagant waste. Wow, I am deeply desirous of not wasting a moment of this life that God has given me. I long to return to my heavenly father and wrap my heart, mind, strength, and arms around Him and to love Him with all of who I am.

Last week, I was reading a bit and I ran across these thoughts and found them a bit provocative. Maybe you will as well. Enjoy life!

Musings of a Christ-Follower

Stop talking about Jesus. Just stop. If we loved the people around us half as much as we say we love Jesus the rest of this manifesto would be entirely redundant.

Live a secret life. Invest the time, effort and vulnerability necessary to delve deeply into the scripture and prayer. Spend long periods of time in stillness. There is no shortcut to this, there is no other way. Without a deep and secret life we soon find ourselves talking about Jesus instead of being like Jesus.

Stop pretending. I’m a Christian, and I stink. So do you. Let’s get that out of the way, shall we?

Give more than you get. There will always be more than enough.

Be present for those around you. Following Jesus has nothing to do with your work, your resume or your income. In fact, nothing that matters does.

Treasure broken-ness. Our broken places are sacred spaces in our heart. Honour them. Value them. In doing so you love the unlovely, publicly declaring the beauty of God’s image in everyone.

Greet the broken with comfort and cool water.

Throw a party.

Know Jesus well enough to recognize him on the street. This is rather important, because he can always be found on the street - and he usually looks more like a pan-handler than a preacher.

Accept ingratitude and abuse as a fixed cost. Embrace them, and then go the extra mile.If you follow Jesus, you will anger religious people. This is how you will know.

Enjoy today. Feel free to comment by clicking below.

For the Glory,

Mark

Stop & Think...

This past weekend was beautiful. Jesus tells a story in Luke 15 about coins. A woman has 10 and loses one. She finds it pretty compelling to light a lamp and search the house for the one. She just cannot find satisfaction in the 9 in her possession. There is one more. The driving passion of our lives is the reality that there is one more person who has not yet discovered the grace message of Jesus Christ. We have the ridiculous honor of being in on the story of Christ and to actually share role in telling that story.

The Stop & Think video was incredible. A clear, beautiful, amazing presentation of what it means to be 'found' in Christ.... how to move one's life into the God-story. I love the anticipation of how God intends to use this tool in our fellowship. We have ordered 200 copies as a starting point. It's simply a tool that every one of us can use to share what it means to be in Christ. I know that we love people... that we are praying specifically for people.... that we are on their 'corner'.... that we are doing all things possible to tell them why Christ amazes us. That's why I love this video. It's just one more tool that God will use to increase His fame. After all, Jesus Christ is in the middle of this rescue mission and there is one more person who has yet to discover the depth of His love for them. He is lighting lamps.... maybe, just maybe we are those lamps. Hey, 'let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and give glory to the living, amazing God!' (Matt 5.16)

So, in a week or so, we'll have a few hundred copies of Stop & Think. (Haven't seen it? Try www.francischan.org Click on media and enjoy stop & think).

Have an amazing week. Fall in love with Christ. He is madly in love with you! Let's change the world.

For the Glory,

Mark

Party

Wouldn't it be incredible if Emmanuel was well-known for two things? It would be amazing to be well-known for our generosity. I mean, people really know us for our care for others.... our love and compassion toward the poor.... our constant encouragement.... our complete lack of grumbling.... our intense passion to be the salt and light of Jesus Christ.... our willingness to serve. I think that people would think that they are actually seeing Jesus when they see a group of people who live and give their time, resources, and heart with intense generosity.

It would also be awesome to be well-know for throwing parties. I love Luke 15. Jesus says, when you are generous and when you will move heaven and earth and mobilize to find, guide, and love others into this God-story and when you will give your lives away for others, you will actually have the thrill of celebration. As a result of hearts and lives that are generous... that are deeply in love with Jesus Christ... that are so deeply in love that it compels us to love others into this profound relationship. Parties that are unleashed in the arena of heaven and find their way into our hearts.... yeah, that would be good.

I think that if we are well known for our generosity in this gospel of Christ and when we throw hundreds and hundreds of parties because more and more find their way into the gospel, I'm really thinking that the fame of Christ will become a bit more prolific. I think that Emmanuel will be a place that increases the fame and character of the living God in this earth. That would be good!

Let's expend our lives for Him alone. It's worth it. When one more person finds their way into the Kingdom of God as a result, let's hit the 'pause' button and throw a massive party! It's worth it.

After all, I once was lost and now I am found. When I was found, heaven hit the pause button and celebrated. I love heaven! I love Jesus Christ. I love following Him!

Feel free to comment, by clicking the comment button.

For the Glory,

Mark

Limping


This past weekend rattled me a bit. I think that I'll keep this post quite short. I am deeply challenged by this question, 'who is my neighbor?' As I consider the intensity of needs around the globe.... as I consider that there are people who will put their heads on the ground tonight with no food in their stomach.... as I consider that malnutrition will cost multiple lives today.... as I consider that a large portion of this world does not have access to clean drinking water..... I really want to steward what God has given me. I really want to be well known for being beautifully generous.



I think that people in Crestview... people across the world are asking, not only about our theology or our deep study, but about how we are making a difference in the name of Christ for the glory of Christ so that we meet the practical needs around us. I think people are asking of us, don't merely tell me about your faith. Please show me! (eerily similar to the book of James!) They want to see action. I am constantly asking God to make us a place of action... a place that lives and breathes this Christ-life.


Personally, Susan and I are asking how we might use what God has given us for Him. We are wrestling with taking the 'stuff' that God has given us and using what we have in our hands to elevate His name. We are praying about the 'fun' things that we have and the joy that God has given us and how to best use those for His fame. We are praying about the utilization of our resources and using a larger portion of our budget to give away toward the needs of the nations.


So, I'm wrestling with a continuing loss of self-indulgence and a deepening in God-indulgence. I think that the heart of being able to give my life, resources, and deepest passion away to the Kingdom advance is something worth wrestling with. I can't rest until the 'good news' of Jesus Christ is given away to the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed, and the needy. Wrestle with me. Let's limp together!


Needs abound. God meets needs. He uses us!


For the Glory,
Mark

Be....

Is it possible that we confuse a life of 'doing' with a life of 'being'? I am pretty convinced that our capacity to live out the life of a Christ-follower is predicated upon our love for Christ. Yeah, I am know that the preceding sentence is pretty simple and beautifully lacking in profundity. But, it's something that I struggle with constantly. Maybe it's my sense of extreme personal responsibility or just how I am wired, but I really have this ambition to "DO" more and more. In all my doing, I find myself empty, frustrated, and generally just dropping the ball as a follower. My intentions... well, they are right on. I'm just missing the follow through. Actually, I don't have the capacity for follow through apart from Christ.


Jesus looked at a very religious man and asked Him what it takes to live as if eternity hangs in the balance. (Lk 10) The man answered, Love God and love others. Jesus responds, even today, okay do that and you will live. Actually do that, and you will live an abounding life. I want to live an abounding life (Jn 10.10). I have found something pretty interesting about God. When I am running after Him. When I am enjoying Him and seeking Him and loving Him and getting to know Him. When my life is tracking toward Him, I rarely concern myself with the 'doing'. Because, when I am running after the character of God, it's a weighty pursuit. I am actually pursuing His glory (glory = weight) and the 'weight' of God in my life simply falls in this earth. I end up 'doing' what a Christ-follower would do. But, I live it out with His power and His passion and His life and His joy and His name and His fame being the sole desire of my heart. Isn't that what Jesus meant when He said, 'do this and you will live?' Didn't He simply ask us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to enjoy the love spilling out toward our neighbor. I love the idea of 'spill out'... it's the overflow! It's the Christ-life spilling on others and that is life, hope, and majesty.


I am recognizing, more and more everyday, that I just don't have the capacity to 'do this and live' unless I am finding a depth of love for and a passion for the pursuit of knowledge of Jesus Christ. God really is looking for a people who are marinating in His Word, sinking the roots of His character into their minds and their hearts. As a result, deeply impassioned expressions are flowing from our lives toward Him. Those expressions find their natural outworking in caring about the needs of those around us. The character of Christ will find its expression in the things we do. It's far easier to sing a song, than touch the broken. It's alot less taxing to go to church than to take 'church' to the world. But, giving our life away for the Kingdom of God is why we are on this planet. Seeing others with eyes of compassion are a result of seeing Jesus for who He is. His eyes of intense compassion open the eyes of our heart.


This is a journey of love... abounding toward us... exploding in us... and living through us. Love you God with all that you have, are, and can be. Allow the outworking of that love to spill the wonder of our God all over this earth. God will be pleased and your life will abound. (Heb 13.16)


Feel free to comment.


For the Glory,
Mark