In Honor of National Cheesy Sports Quotes Day…

You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you never take.

Make Your Own Holiday!

Hear ye! Hear ye! Attention, world! Each and every one of us has an unparalleled opportunity! Thanks to the Wellness Permission League, Wednesday, March 26 is Make Your Own Holiday Day! In case any of you are in the mood for another holiday after the St. Patrick’s Day/Easter marathon, this is your chance to create your own. Have you always wished that there was a holiday honoring blue M&M’s? By all means, this is your chance to pig out on all the blue M&M’s you can find. Or, maybe a holiday dedicated to hot sauce or Ted Dekker? Have you felt the need to warn someone about a dire situation? Then, follow the example of my roommate who is taking time out of her week to celebrate “National Sinkhole Awareness Day.” 

As for me, I will be observing “National Cheesy Sports Quotes Day.” Remember to win one for the Gipper! Oh, and as you’re going through your day, keep in mind that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. 

The sky’s the limit. What will you celebrate?

Oh, Holidays…

Every major religious holiday is always a time of personal reflection and growth for me. Certainly, this is true for many people, but it’s a little different for me. My family never celebrated holidays such as Christmas and Easter, because of various reasons. Mainly, they didn’t approve of the pagan/Catholic origins and the commercialism involved. In fact, I used to think the the word “Christmas” was a cuss word. I respect their views, but I’ve begun to plunge into the unknown world of religious holidays.

Why the change in heart? A change in churches is the biggest reason. I would rather be in unity and full participation with my church than to fight over something that has little biblical guidance. As I have slowly accepted a Christ-centered celebration of these holidays, I’ve also seen the first glimpse of how I can reach others through them. For instance, I’ve been getting to know my neighbors, and Christmas gave me a chance to show them that I care about them with a small gift. Easter gave me the chance to invite them to church. While they didn’t come today, they are probably going to be coming next week. Even if they don’t, I have my foot in the door. Through all this, I’ve come to see that Holidays are a great avenue for missional living. You can celebrate holidays in a very worldly way, but they can also be redeemed for good.

Bigger than me

Have you ever had the experience where you knew you were part of something huge? That God was working in a way that was bigger than you ever imagined? That the whole was greater than its parts? That’s the kingdom of God. That’s the bride of Christ. That’s the local church. That’s Jesus.

Last night I met with some wonderful ladies who are partnering together with me to put a new emphasis of prayer at our church. Even though the Holy Spirit put a spark in my heart and mind so that I prepared like crazy for this meeting, it grew into something much more. The Holy Spirit had put a spark in all of us. All of our backgrounds, perspectives, and gifts have come together to form the core of something so powerful that it could never be from us. This is from God.

He’s moving, He’s preparing our congregation, and He’s going to do something beyond our wildest dreams.

The Urgency of the Mission

“If sinners be dammed, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. If they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees. Let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Perhaps if there were more of that intense distress for souls that leads to tears, we should more frequently see the results we desire. Sometimes it may be that while we are complaining of the hardness of the hearts of those we are seeking to benefit, the hardness of our own hearts and our feeble apprehension of the solemn reality of ­eternal things may be the true cause of our want of success.”
~ Hudson Taylor

Kingdom Prayer for a Kingdom People

In Isaiah 56:7, God declares that “my house will be a house or prayer for all nations.” He was referring to the temple, the place of worship in that time. Now, the place of worship is the church. Still, His house, the people who make up the church, should be a house of prayer for all nations. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is forcefully advancing, and the church must follow His call. Part of following that call is to hit our knees. When the church of Acts came upon a big decision, such as the setting apart of Barnabas and Paul or the naming of Matthias as an Apostle, prayer played a vital role. Many times Christians know how to pray for people who are sick or mourning or struggling, but have never even thought about praying kingdom prayers. We must pray for guidance for our congregation, and we must pray for the Holy Spirit to prepare the way ahead of us. Prayer must be centered on bringing God glory, and seeking His will. Certainly, we should also pray for those hurting around us, but most of us can figure out how to do that on our own.

An Emerging Obsession

A great reminder from Mr. Driscoll in his sermon answering question number two from the Religion Saves series: don’t focus so much on what you DON’T believe that you forget to talk about what you DO believe. He didn’t state it in those words, but that seemed to be the overall point. The emergent church is wrong. The only thing that we can learn from them is how to deal with false teaching, as Driscoll said. But, I love how he did his best to change the subject while keeping it relevant. Preach Jesus. Love Jesus. Follow Jesus. Share Jesus. Defend Jesus. I just need to remember not to focus so much on the last one that I forget to do the rest. Address false teaching and guard yourself from heresy, yes. Obsess over it, no.

Death Must Die

If I hear of one more person dying, I think I’m going to lose it. Death is tragic. Death is an enemy. Death is the result of a fallen, sinful world. Jesus cried because of death (What do you know? Me, too). One of my high school basketball coaches died on Saturday. He was a great guy who loved Jesus, adored his family, and lived out his faith. As a Christian, he had hope, something to look forward to. Not everyone one has that. But, death doesn’t win. Jesus wins. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15: 55-57). A beautiful verse for tumultuous times.

Hope. Hope in the midst of turmoil. Hope: the return of Christ. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order or things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Here’s a final reminder from This is My Father’s World: “O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”