Breathe..... thoughts from Philippians 3.13 through the lens of Emmanuel

If the Word is God-breathed, then I want to inhale life, freshness... Him! My life is often smog filled and I long for the purity of God.... of His life.... of His direction... of His character becoming my very own.

This past few weeks have been amazing. Watching students go off before God and lead each other in an ever deepening passion for Christ was sweet. BigStuf Camp was just that... Big stuff. Then, to venture to Mega Sports Camp with our kids and hang out with them for 4 days was too sweet for words. I sweated through three shirts a day.... pulled muscles..... burned fuel...... talked with kids..... and watched as 10 kids moved their lives into the story of God and dozens went wild in their joy for Him. Kid-like worship is awesome. Okay, there was a moment that just doesn't happen with anyone but kids. I was talking about God giving us endurance even when times are hard. The story from the Word was Paul and Silas enduring in jail. I told the kids, they were doing insane things like quoting AWANA verses to encourage each other, and singing songs. Then, I begin to sing Here I am to Worship...... the kids starting singing with me. We sang that chorus quite a few times and it became louder and louder. I was thinking to myself, "self" what happens when we live loudly for the kingdom... what happens when old people (me) really have this 'kid' passion for God. Uninhibited... unencumbered.... undignified..... just singing until the prison doors open. Needless to type, it was a sweet moment! Even more, it's always amazing to me when eternity shifts.... especially when a kid says "yes" to God and charts an amazing, unimaginable journey in Him. It's been a good week or two.

Watching people flow through the baptismal waters was wet... good.... and always a party at EBC. Over the next couple of months, we are expecting a few dozen to baptize in the faith. Yeah! And that is only on this continent. What about Brazil? Central Asia? Pine Isle? I asked our body to move into a Tuesday "fast".... for the next four Tuesdays, join together in a corporate fast in pursuit of our God. We are rocking heaven as we ask God to open the trails in Brazil, provide visa's for Central Asia, and send a team to Pine Isle! We think it's a good idea to plant churches on river heads.... in every county in a nation in Central Asia.... and to let the islands rejoice! We see some serious issues and spiritual confrontations! We are going to fast, pray, and expect!

Tons of feedback from yesterday...... As we train for life, it's our desire to allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It was fun, practical, and incredibly intentional to discuss the finer points of a road trip in Christ. Enjoying some thoughts from Buddy Owens (a supreme PK speaker), we talked about breathing deeply in the word of God. After all, if we are to echo our God, then the target of our lives is to allow His character to permeate our lives. When we discover who He is, we must ask "who am I"? Taking this road trip on a daily basis will grow us in the depth and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how our lives align with His. We talked about...

Filling our tank - verbalizing to God our openness to change....

Choosing the road - where will I begin this journey? John? Philippians? Romans? Ephesians? Find a road and begin. An even more practical suggestions is to find a version that you enjoy. Buy a coffee..... find a bookstore.... and peruse versions until you find one that really clicks.

Slow Down - this is not a speed reading challenge. Read until God speaks... then stop

Pull off at the brown sign (beautiful markers of significant moments) - This is not merely slowing down. This is stopping and enjoying a God view in a passage. What is God saying? How does it affect you?

Create a memory moment - How does your life match God's picture.... James says, God's word is a mirror. What do you look like in this environment?

Talk About the trip - this is an amazing conversation with God. The conversation is not launched out of the blue... instead, you are talking with God about His Word. You are struggling with His truth.... You are honest with Him.... You are honest with you.... You are being transformed by truth.

Repack - what adjustments is God asking from you? Think about this throughout the day. Be a 'one thing' person... one thing you do to pursue Him throughout the day. You may need to celebrate God's work in you... you may need to get rid of some baggage.... you may need to simply listen to God..... to worship.....

God did not give us His word to increase knowledge, He gave us His word... His life to change lives!

Vision, without the ability to execute is merely hallucination. We have this vision... we want the character of Christ. Let's 'train for life'! Let our lives echo of the great goodness, glory, and wonder of our God.

Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking 'comment' below. Happy week!


Mark