You (GOD) STAY the same through the ages!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a conference to hear Leonard Sweet speak. Strange as it may be, I've never really heard of him prior to the conference. I haven't read any of his approx 60 books but I did hear about Soul Tsunami once!
So I was going with no expectations and wondered what I was in for! The Conference began with Joel Auge who sang a beautiful song that he wrote for his wife. (again, never heard of the guy either!) But WOW his voice is incredible!
Leonard Sweet spoke about Revival and the 3 things that are important to keep in mind:
1. People return to Scriptures
2. People read Scriptures in language of the Culture
3. We RE-DISCOVER JESUS!
He talked about advertising being sermons. How we are inundated with sermons all day long, everywhere we go. Advertising in our culture today is telling stories. They use few words if any, a great soundtrack and great imagery. Culture isn't about words anymore, it's about a story. In all respect advertising is about having the best story, because the best one wins. As Christian's we have the Greatest Story that is never told and each one of us has a story, yet it's secondary to the GREATEST Story (The WORD!)
Do we know the word? Or do we know 'words'? Do we know key verses in the bible which we can say at the drop of a hat? Do we know the back story to those verses and do we know the root metaphors? Can we get past verse-a-titus and can we tell a compelling story where people will re-discover Jesus?
Some of the thoughts that came to my mind as Leonard spoke was:
a. Don't build your life story on another persons life story but build it on THE STORY. (word of God) This way we won't be disappointed when our story doesn't look like another persons story.
b. That peeling an artichoke is much better analogy than peeling the onion because the artichoke heart is the treasure and at the core of an onion is nothing but onion!
c. Jesus calls us into tribes of HIS making, not our choosing.
In all honesty, I was compelled. I needed rejuvenation in the area of reading the word and this enlivened my faith to read the word in a different way. To dig for the back story and find the root metaphor. Even by using one word only...and finding the rich narrafor (As Leonard says which is a mix of stories and metaphors) in this place.
I'm also reminded that in this place of being rejuvenated, my trust and faith comes first and foremost not in the compelling speech of man, but in the word of God which brings life and the ultimate rejuvenation that I need. Leonard is far from perfect. He's well read, and has controversy by his name in the midst of being a compelling speaker. We need to be mindful and alert when we listen to anyone speak. Are they speaking mysticism? Truth? Maybe a mix of both? And learn to dissect what people say, not holding everything they say as truth, just because it makes us feel good.
I walked away refreshed to read the word of God. That is a great thing. Because the TRUTH is that the Word of God brings life, renewal and grounds us in knowing Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit.
Monday, May 05, 2014
Friday, May 02, 2014
Authority of God or is he Grey?
Revelation 12:11"They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from
death."
There is plenty of talk out there about gender and acceptance and conversation and even the notion of a Grey God!
There are those in culture today that are needing to authentically hold to defining themselves based on their feelings and desires. You know what? I'm so okay with that notion in the secular world, where people are needing to find truth and definition, in the things they face. That is the human condition in many respects. Yet, for the believer it's a different matter. Human ideologies and sentimentality are far from the things we are called to hold tight to. We in all definition no longer exist. That may be a hard reality. There are times when I so want to live. My flesh wants to live yet it needs to come under authority. Maybe in the midst of the equation we've held the notion that we no longer need to come under any type of authority. OUCH!
Merriam Webster online dictionary states that:
Authority (noun)
-the power to give orders or make decisions
-the power or right to direct or control someone or something
-the confident quality of someone who knows a lot about something or who is respected or obeyed by other people
-the quality that makes something seem true or real
I think of the Lord God Almighty, the alpha and omega...the creator of all things and the God who ultimately showed mercy to the world by sending his son Jesus to die and rise again, who bore all our sin and humanness on the cross. This is our hope to which we stand and proclaim to a lost generation. In the midst of this as believers, do we hold fast to the truth that God still had the power and authority to give orders and make decisions? Does God have the power, right to direct and control someone or something? Does God know a lot? Is God respected and obeyed by his people? Or in our waiting for Christ's return do we build our own idols of worship?
Is the authoritative word of God makes it real and true? Or do we need to water it down to appease our human condition.
These are thoughts I have today. I know the extravagant love of Papa God who graciously saved me from my own doing. My own sinfulness and choices to self define myself based on my broken human condition. (which is the truth of everyone of us...for all have fallen short...)
Romans 3:21-24 out of the messages reads:
21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
The lie in what is spreading throughout culture is that you can't find or have JOY or HOPE in the midst of a struggle against our flesh. I'm speaking specifically in terms of same sex attraction. But we can say the same for anything our flesh desires! Give in to gluttony, give in to putting your trust in your own riches, give in to self indulgent (worship) behaviors like masturbation and porn use. Scripture is full of verses that tell us to BEWARE of our flesh as it can so easily draw us away from the truth. The TRUTH sets us free, it doesn't put us back into slavery (and slavery can feel good because it's familiar, it's easy if we are treated right!)
The truth is that many people have fallen away from the gospel, because they've had to 'try to gain perfection', they've had to 'try' to be like every one else that they've seen and heard around them. To be 'delivered' to be 'set free' to be 'changed' must mean we no longer struggle with sin or our human condition. When we hear "Change is Possible" what does that mean? Is change possible? It depends on what you define CHANGE to be. If it means I put my faith in no longer struggling or facing the shadows of my sinfulness, then I've got it wrong. For myself, I've had to make peace with my past. I've had to acknowledge the good and the bad things that have happened and how it has shaped me to who I am today.
I'm a Christ follower who loves God more than my own life. More than my own desires and wants and needs could be. (and I am FAR from PERFECT) Part of that equation also means that I need to submit my life to the control of the Holy Spirit who gives me wisdom and understanding. I'm called to serve my wife in this posture of my own submission. To love her like Jesus loved the Church. I'm called to raise my daughter in the ways of the Lord. Train her up so she doesn't depart from the truth! I'm called to love and encourage...and love and encourage and then do that again, over and over again. I'm also called to always be ready to share the hope within me...and that the power of my testimony and the blood of the lamb defeats the enemy...and I am not to be afraid to lose my life!
So where are you at with the Authority of God these days? How is the battle of your human condition? May you be encouraged to continue on the path set before you, not loving your life so much that you are afraid to lose it...and may you encourage and spur others on in authentic community relationship. Be authentic and real with your journey.
I LOVE Aaron Keyes and the worship that is happening...and I've posted a youtube clip of a song that continues to speak the gospel to my heart and encourage me....may it do the same with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPkMbhydU9I&feature=kp
There is plenty of talk out there about gender and acceptance and conversation and even the notion of a Grey God!
There are those in culture today that are needing to authentically hold to defining themselves based on their feelings and desires. You know what? I'm so okay with that notion in the secular world, where people are needing to find truth and definition, in the things they face. That is the human condition in many respects. Yet, for the believer it's a different matter. Human ideologies and sentimentality are far from the things we are called to hold tight to. We in all definition no longer exist. That may be a hard reality. There are times when I so want to live. My flesh wants to live yet it needs to come under authority. Maybe in the midst of the equation we've held the notion that we no longer need to come under any type of authority. OUCH!
Merriam Webster online dictionary states that:
Authority (noun)
-the power to give orders or make decisions
-the power or right to direct or control someone or something
-the confident quality of someone who knows a lot about something or who is respected or obeyed by other people
-the quality that makes something seem true or real
I think of the Lord God Almighty, the alpha and omega...the creator of all things and the God who ultimately showed mercy to the world by sending his son Jesus to die and rise again, who bore all our sin and humanness on the cross. This is our hope to which we stand and proclaim to a lost generation. In the midst of this as believers, do we hold fast to the truth that God still had the power and authority to give orders and make decisions? Does God have the power, right to direct and control someone or something? Does God know a lot? Is God respected and obeyed by his people? Or in our waiting for Christ's return do we build our own idols of worship?
Is the authoritative word of God makes it real and true? Or do we need to water it down to appease our human condition.
These are thoughts I have today. I know the extravagant love of Papa God who graciously saved me from my own doing. My own sinfulness and choices to self define myself based on my broken human condition. (which is the truth of everyone of us...for all have fallen short...)
Romans 3:21-24 out of the messages reads:
21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
The lie in what is spreading throughout culture is that you can't find or have JOY or HOPE in the midst of a struggle against our flesh. I'm speaking specifically in terms of same sex attraction. But we can say the same for anything our flesh desires! Give in to gluttony, give in to putting your trust in your own riches, give in to self indulgent (worship) behaviors like masturbation and porn use. Scripture is full of verses that tell us to BEWARE of our flesh as it can so easily draw us away from the truth. The TRUTH sets us free, it doesn't put us back into slavery (and slavery can feel good because it's familiar, it's easy if we are treated right!)
The truth is that many people have fallen away from the gospel, because they've had to 'try to gain perfection', they've had to 'try' to be like every one else that they've seen and heard around them. To be 'delivered' to be 'set free' to be 'changed' must mean we no longer struggle with sin or our human condition. When we hear "Change is Possible" what does that mean? Is change possible? It depends on what you define CHANGE to be. If it means I put my faith in no longer struggling or facing the shadows of my sinfulness, then I've got it wrong. For myself, I've had to make peace with my past. I've had to acknowledge the good and the bad things that have happened and how it has shaped me to who I am today.
I'm a Christ follower who loves God more than my own life. More than my own desires and wants and needs could be. (and I am FAR from PERFECT) Part of that equation also means that I need to submit my life to the control of the Holy Spirit who gives me wisdom and understanding. I'm called to serve my wife in this posture of my own submission. To love her like Jesus loved the Church. I'm called to raise my daughter in the ways of the Lord. Train her up so she doesn't depart from the truth! I'm called to love and encourage...and love and encourage and then do that again, over and over again. I'm also called to always be ready to share the hope within me...and that the power of my testimony and the blood of the lamb defeats the enemy...and I am not to be afraid to lose my life!
So where are you at with the Authority of God these days? How is the battle of your human condition? May you be encouraged to continue on the path set before you, not loving your life so much that you are afraid to lose it...and may you encourage and spur others on in authentic community relationship. Be authentic and real with your journey.
I LOVE Aaron Keyes and the worship that is happening...and I've posted a youtube clip of a song that continues to speak the gospel to my heart and encourage me....may it do the same with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPkMbhydU9I&feature=kp
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