Illumination

Amblings, Ramblings, and thoughts from the weekend of July 16,2006

Who or what do I illuminate with my life? Illuminate defined - to brighten with light; to make lucid; clarify; to make resplendent. Before we can move into a life that is far outside the norm.... a life that is radically impacted by the presence, person, and passion for Christ, we must determine who or what our life illuminates. What do we brighten or make clear or, even better, make resplendent? I love the Message translation of the Bible and Jesus says "You and I are here to be light. We are here to bring out the God colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept." (Matt 5.16) I am really asking myself, who or what do I illuminate? Do I bring out the God colors in this earth? Over the next seven weeks, we will dive deeply into the practical outworkings of a life impassioned for the kingdom of God. We will evaluate our lives via the plumbline of Philippians 3.15-21. Yet, we will be remiss to assess our lives before we wrestle with what or who our lives illuminate.

The visual for the next seven weeks is beautiful. At the front and center of our worship room is a simple candle and the bread of life beneath it. It will be compelling to view our lives through the lens of God's Word as we look at an physical representation of a huge spiritual reality simultaneously. As the 'church'... the ekklesia... the 'called out' who long to ignite and inspire passion for Jesus Christ, our role is intensely simple. We are to illuminate the bread of life. We are God's lampstand and at the base of the lamp must be one thing... the person, the glory, the reality of the presence of God that brings intentionality and intensity to everything that we are about in life. It's weighty.... It's incredible.... It's exciting..... It's the glory of God that is at stake. So, I.. we have to wrestle with who or what we illuminate in life. I love the way Lucado writes that God's to do list consists of one item - Reveal my glory.... Heavens framed mission statement of life's purpose and focus is Declare God's glory.

So, I am following the trail of my time, possessions, passions, life choices, energy and evaluating what I find at the end of that trail. I am finding that some of what I illuminate is not really that pretty...... some things I want to discard.... and with the deepest part of my heart, I want my life to be very simple. As God reveals His glory to me, I want to make loud declaration of His glory, His character, His fame in every arena. I am quite primed about the next seven weeks. I am primed about the idea of a 'breakaway' life and the desire to live, move, and have my being outside the norm. It is my passion and prayer that I... and that all of us at EBC are 'breakaway' and believe at our deepest core that there is 'far more to this life for us.' I want to walk down the trail of my life and find at the end one throne..... one thing at the base of my lamp... Christ. He's more than enough!

We should have a fun seven week journey through Breakaway. We will settle into this thought... There is far more to life for us! --- 3.20 Hey, wasn't it sweet to celebrate 300 kids in the Arctic Edge, 30+ of whom embraced the story of God; a team returning from Brazil; 2 teams heading to Pine Island and Central Asia; our Daytona partnership pastor in the house.... and incredible worship at EBC?!? What a day yesterday. If you haven't checked out our Brazil team, try on www.ebcbrazil.blogspot.com - Good reading!

God is amazing. Illuminate Him!

Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comments below. Enjoy today.

Mark