Beautiful Day.....

Yeah, yesterday was a beautiful day! All was right... good. From amazing songs to a taste of U2 and the amazing 'closer' to worship - Ian, the cheering machine. Oh, yeah! It was a beautiful day.

Last night, rolling up at Emmanuel at 4:20 (40 minutes early) and seeing hundreds already on campus and dozens of grills rolling out some sweet cooking. Something about that whole deal was just right. It was a beautiful night. I really had this image of the early church.... you know, the group written about in Acts who laughed, loved, ate, and simply sat together and enjoyed life. That's what last night felt like.... Colors were everywhere..... chairs.... laughter.... joy.... kids jumping.... students loving kids.... amazing food..... mascots from all schools.... banners.... and a stinkin good fest. Yes, we had cheerleaders... followed by Ian and Jamie - our resident insane men. If you missed the 'dance off/ cheer fest' by the boys, here's a link to a taste of the insanity.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1389341832

Watching the video, I love the prayer moment.... I mean, how often do you pray and have two mascots standing beside you joining in this conversation with God. It was a beautiful day (dance off included)

This journey in Christ is remarkable. It's fun. It's mystery. It's filled with joy and it's filled with weight (kabod is the hebrew word for 'glory' and it actually means weighty). This role we live out on earth is filled with glory and it is filled with the ripe opportunity to live out the God-life in the marketplace of life. I think that we long to stand firm... I think that we must stand firm as a people who are impassioned for the name and character of Christ and who are emboldened to give all that we are for His fame alone. Paul tells us to put into practice... actually live out... what we have seen and heard. Paul suggest that the impetus for a life lived for the glory will actually move us into the fullness of our purpose. He writes that we will actually live in the midst of God's excellent harmonies! I think Paul was asking us to give our lives for the glory because we will, then, move into God's best... our best! Because we believe that God is whole and brings us to wholeness, Paul really expects that, when confronted with truth, we will put it into practice. When our lives contradict truth, Paul/ Jesus/ James... well, they actually think it best that we adjust our lives to truth because its for the advance of the kingdom AND we benefit by being in God's harmony. Wow!

People who Stand Firm…. They are Christ-followers who refuse to make excuses for their failings; instead we address our inadequacies and invite our God to enable us to overcome. After all, at the center of this whole thing, a man did die and a man was raised from the dead and He did not do that for us to merely make it through a day or to live stuck in a moment we can't get out of.... He died out of this abandoned love for us… a passion for relationship with us….. He actually thinks that the connection we share will so wholly transform us that we will take on his character… Fruit!

Think well... Live well... Become..... That's the beauty of transformation. Becoming a bit more like Christ together.

Stand Firm together.... Falling in love with Christ. That sounds right.... That sounds like a recipe for many 'beautiful days'. Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comment below. Enjoy today, it's a beautiful day.

For the Glory,
Mark