No Ruts...


It's good to be loved! You know, I'm just sharing my heart and soul about 'rutting' Saturday night. I even went so far as to share that Susan and I will not rut! All of it with heart-felt spiritual implications. After all, as sheep, we are prone to get into a rut when we don't follow the shepherd. So, I do live in Crestview. There are ALOT of hunters in our fellowship. They did feel free to tell me that when two deer get together and 'rut', well...... that tends to produce a little, tiny, baby deer. Yep, I was instructed not to use 'rut' as a verb.. No rutting or "to rut"... and definitely don't allude to my wife and I not rutting...just, not good. I love being a communicator : )


So, I'm a sheep who gets into ruts. I'm a sheep who will walk the same trail over and over and over. If left to my own devices, I'll follow the same trail until it becomes rutted; eat from the same hills until barren; pollute the ground until it becomes corrupt. I'm a sheep. I'll do things the way I have always done them because I am a person of habit. Jesus is the author of life. He's the amazing, good Shepherd. He is always leading me toward life... satisfaction... sustenance... His entire reputation as the Good Shepherd depends upon His guidance toward new ground.... new horizons... fresh food. If I'm in a rut, it's a pretty good sign that I'm not following my Shepherd. He's moving. He's alive. He's life!

I want to follow Him. I will follow Him. I'll find fresh water as He guides. I will drink from His wellspring of life. I will take Him in... I will believe Him... I will make so much room for my shepherds life that His life will become my very own. Despite my desire to conform.. my fears... my rutted, habitual life... Despite all these adverse characteristics, Christ chooses me.. He choose us, buys us, calls us by name, makes us His own, and delights in us. He is an amazingly good Shepherd!

Stay out of ruts! Drink deeply in Christ. Enjoy that He will guide you to fertile ground.... life! I will follow a Shepherd like that!

Feel free to comment.

For the Glory,
Mark

Light....

Jesus asks, 'what do you want from me?' I mean, I'm blind, struggling, desperate, hungry, needful... and Jesus parks in front of me and still asks the question, 'what do you want from me?' I like that He doesn't assume! If I am completely honest, I am not always sure that I want what He wants for me. I am not sure that I am ready to adjust my life to His life in order to experience fullness of life. Isn't that the consummate life irony?!? I actually think that I know what I need more than my Creator desires and has designed for me. All the while, I'm bruising my life, breaking my heart (breaking hearts around me as well) and stumbling about blind... thinking that I am making a way.

So, Jesus pulls up to me..to you... and asks whether we really want Him to be life... to be light... to be hope... to be this amazing path that will guide us into consummation of purpose. I think that He is wondering if I really want to know Him. Whether I want to know His purposes. Whether I am willing to adjust to His ways. I think He wonders if I am tired of stumbling, hitting my shins, and my heart and swearing because it hurts. Jesus says, I am LIGHT. When you know me, you see better and, amazingly, you don't get hurt as much.

Honestly, I want to be a bit like Bartimaeus. I want the desperate cry of my heart to be "Jesus, Son of David. Have mercy on me!' When Jesus pulls up beside that level of desperation and asks what I want. I think my simple answer will be "You". I want you, Jesus Christ. I want light... I want to see... I want passion... I want life. I think Jesus will say, "I'm all of that and more."

So, I'm planning to think alot about Jesus. By that, I mean that I am planning to systematically, strategically, and intentionally think alot about Jesus. I want to contemplate Him so that, by His act of mercy, I might become like Him. So that, for His glory alone, I might actually reflect Him in this earth.

2 Corinthians 3.18 is an intense, beautiful, potential-filled verse for us. Enjoy that verse. Contemplate. Cry out with desperation. When He asks what you want, be prepared to embrace Him and adjust to His ways. See. Become. Live. Reflect!

Feel free to comment.

For the Glory,

Mark

Known....

What a weekend! So many things this weekend left me in awe of our God. Baptism is always amazing! The video 'spoken word' was just stinkin' good. Daylight savings time.. Oh, yeah!!! (Tonight, bring on the whiffle ball game until dark) As always, the band was off the chain. Jesus dropped into our weekend encounters in power. Hearts being spent before God was just radical. A sister is visiting. She embraced Christ this past week. She rolled up to me after service and her eyes were just lit up. She said, "this whole thing made sense for the first time. The Bible came alive for me!" I was a bit primed about that statement. At the 10:30 Encounter, people were just finding freedom, confession, and heart hope at the altar. It was fresh!!

You know, I just want to be absolutely vulnerable with you guys. More than that, I just want to be totally authentic with Christ. If it is possible, I long to be completely unconcerned with my fame... my success... my career path... my deal. It is my deepest passion to be totally concerned with the fame, passion, renown, and character of Jesus Christ. If no one knows my name when I fade from this earth, that's good. If people remember some guy who made much of Jesus Christ and who fell madly in love with Jesus Christ, that's even better.

Reading Revelation 3..and rolling into chapters 4 & 5 were just overwhelming. God is knocking and knocking and knocking and knocking and knocking on the door of our life and inviting us to love Him. He will never stop knocking. When we overcome... when we fall in love with Him.... when we refuse to be lukewarm.... When all that happens, we get to sit on His throne. That is massive motivation. I don't care what accolades I might receive... what I might accomplish... what I might to do impress anyone in this earth. I just want to sit on the throne! Millions gather around the throne in worship..... the roar of passion explodes around the throne... 24 elders bow down and cry out of His holiness.... wild looking creatures shout of His magnitude.... thunder rolls... lightning peals.... and, because of my love and passion for Christ, I will be invited to sit on that throne!

That thought is consuming. May we live consumed for His glory.... in love with Him fully.... abandoned to Him wholely! I want to sit on that throne! Feel free to comment below. Enjoy today. It's a good day!

For the Glory,

Mark

Mystery...

I love mystery. I love that Jesus is moving across this earth and He has every intent of releasing people from the bondage of sin and futility. I love that He has every intent of making proclamation of freedom. I love that He hears the cries of the people that He formed with His own hands. I love that He intimately cares about those cries. I love that He plans to step into lives and make Himself known. I love the mystery of waking up everyday and wondering just how He plans to reveal Himself.

I love the story of Moses in the desert. I love that God was saying all of the things that I typed. God was going to bring freedom, release captives, take His people on this radical journey. God parked by a fire with Moses and shared all the things that He intended to do. Can't you just imagine Moses saying 'amen' and 'Oh, yeah' and 'You do it, God!' HAAAAAAALLEEEELUJAH! Moses was in a worship encounter. Then, God says, I'm doing it all. So, Moses, 'you go!' The record screeched to a halt. The brakes went ON. Moses little worship encounter stopped. He was thinking that he was digging all the things that God planned to do. God just said, 'oh, by the way Moses, I'm inviting you into the story!' I love God. God is moving. God invites us into the movement! That's HUGE!!

I love that He invites us into His story. God is going to place a refuge on every street in our city. God is going to set hundreds/ thousands free in Crestview. He plans to take His fame and character from Daytona to Central Asia to Africa to England to South America. He's all in. Then, he turns to all of us and says, "You go!"

I want in! I want all of us to want in! I want all of us to say, "Yes, we are in!!!" I actually am stunned that God invites us into His story. He is an amazing God. I love that He is the bread of life. I love that He plans to feed His life.... His bread across this globe. I've tasted bread. I have bread. I have seen, experienced, and tasted the joy of bread. It's life. I want to take that bread that I have received by grace and give it away... feed as many as possible... to experience just how many God will feed with the bread that He has given me! Yeah, that's mystery. That's joy. That's God revealing His life and inviting me to give His life away. I'm in! You?

Feel free to comment. Enjoy bread!

For the Glory,

Mark