A Generation Transformed

The Best Idea

2011-12-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

“ An idea, whether right or wrong, that captures the minds of a nation’s youth will soon work its way into every area of society, especially in our multimedia age. Ideas determine consequences.” –the American Covenant

Aren’t you tired of thin answers? Aren’t you tired of slippery responses to life’s big problems that don’t really address the issue?

What happens when I die? How much money is enough?

What is marriage and relationships supposed to look like? How do I be a dad?

What can I do with my life that actually matters?

How should I act to towards the poor?

Who is God?

Right now, we are seeing the resurgence of the authentic lifestyle Christianity. Millions of people have looked in a million directions for pleasure and purpose only to realize that it cannot ultimately be found outside of Jesus. Look to Him today. Look to Him. Never be embarrassed or ashamed to walk in a room with Jesus as your king.

Ephesians study WEEK 4: Relationships

2011-12-12T10:27:00.001-05:00

Day 1) Ephesians 4:25

25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

What should be the trademark of our conversations with one another?

What is the motivation behind putting away falsehood and speaking truth? (see 1Cor 12:12-27)

How does your connection with other Christians impact the way you live?

Day 2) Ephesians 4:32

32Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Describe the characteristics that make these special relationships with other believers possible?

Why are we quick to forgive? (see Matt 18:21-35, Matt 6: 14-15)

Is there anyone in life you need to forgive and be tenderhearted towards?

Day 3) Ephesians 5:21

21submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

What does it mean to submit to one another?

Why do we submit to each other?

What do we value? (see Matt 6:19-21, 2Cor 5:14-15)

Take time today to envision a community of believers who actually do this. Write out what it would look like.

Day 4) Ephesians 5:33

33However, let each of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Wives fundamentally look for love. Husbands fundamentally look for respect. Read through how the apostle Paul outlines the mutual submission of husband to Christ and wife to husband (see Eph 5:22-33).

How is this radically different than our culture?

Paul compares the marriage relationship to our relationship with Christ. What does it mean to you to be the bride of Christ?

Day 5) Ephesians 6:1-4

1Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2”Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3”that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

When we are children we are commanded to obey our parents. Once we become adults, we must continue to honor our parents. Have you honored your father and mother?

How does Paul encourage fathers to behave towards their children? (see Heb 12:5-13)

Notice how everyone is under authority. Parents are accountable to God. According to these passages, put some language around a healthy family.

Day 6) Ephesians 6:5-9

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is slave or free. 9Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

In this passage Paul outlines the employer and employee relationship. How should employees act? (see Col 3:23-25)

What does it mean to do your work “as for the Lord and not for men?”

How should you act if you are the employer?

What authority is everyone ultimately accountable to?

How does this impact the way you are at work?

Day 7) Ephesians 6:11-12

11Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

In dealing with relationships, who is your real enemy?

Satan has schemes. How do we stand strong amidst his schemes? (see Eph 6:13-20)

Think about each piece of armor. How do you put that on?

Ephesians study WEEK 3: What we do with Love (Holiness)

2011-12-05T13:01:00.002-05:00

1) Ephesians 4:1-3
¹I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

What is the first thing we do with love? What are some of the characteristics of our new walk? (See Philippians 2:2-5, Galatians 5:16-24) What does this look like for you?

2) Ephesians 4:21-22
²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.

What are we called to put off? How do we do it? (See Romans 12:1-2, James 5:16, Romans 6:12-14) Reflect on things God has changed in you by grace.

3) Ephesians 4:23-24
²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What are we called to put on by faith? What does it look like? (See 1 Peter 1:13-21, 1 Corinthians 13) It is Christ’s love in you that must come out. How can you express that love today?

4) Ephesians 4:30-31
³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

This new self is marked by a relationship with the Holy Spirit. What must we be careful not to do? What does this relationship look like? (See John 16:7-15, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, John 7:37-39) How do you apply this truth?

5) Ephesians 5:1-2
¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ²And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

What does it mean to you to imitate God? What example did Jesus set?(See Luke 10:25-37)

6) Ephesians 5:4-6
⁴Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. ⁵For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

What should mark our speech? Scripture teaches that empty words mean nothing. A changed heart will always be seen through a changed life. (See 1 John 3:7-10) What convicts the believer when they sin? Why can true Christians continue the practice of sin? How should we handle sin? (See Galatians 6:1-2)

7) Ephesians 5:15-17
¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The believer is accountable to live as a citizen of another world. Where is our citizenship (See Philippians 3:20) What must we do with the limited time God has given us? (Luke 19:11-27)

Ephesians study WEEK 3: What we do with Love (Holiness)

2011-12-05T13:01:00.000-05:00

What is the first thing we do with love? What are some of the characteristics of our new walk? (See Philippians 2:2-5, Galatians 5:16-24) What does this look like for you?

What are we called to put off? How do we do it? (See Romans 12:1-2, James 5:16, Romans 6:12-14) Reflect on things God has changed in you by grace.

3) Ephesians 4:23-24
²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What are we called to put on by faith? What does it look like? (See 1 Peter 1:13-21, 1 Corinthians 13) It is Christ’s love in you that must come out. How can you express that love today?

5) Ephesians 5:1-2
¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ²And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

What does it mean to you to imitate God? What example did Jesus set?(See Luke 10:25-37)

The believer is accountable to live as a citizen of another world. Where is our citizenship (See Philippians 3:20) What must we do with the limited time God has given us? (Luke 19:11-27)

Ephesians study WEEK 2: Who We Are (Identity)

2011-11-28T17:33:00.000-05:00

Day 1 - Ephesians 2:1-2
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience”

How does scripture describe your life without Christ? (see also: 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 & James 3:14-16) Did Adam physically die the day he disobeyed? (see also: Genesis 2:17)

Day 2– Ephesians 2:3-4

“…among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ButGod, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us”

What do we deserve because of our sin? (see also: Romans 6:23 & 1 John 2:15-17) Where does sin lead us? What was God’s motivation for saving us? (see also: John 3:16-17)

Day 3 – Ephesians 2:5-6

“…even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”

Jesus came as a representative to identify with us. Whatever happened to him happened to us in the eyes of God. What happened to Jesus? What happened to us in the spirit? (see also: Colossians 2:12-15 & 1 Corinthians 5:17-19)

Day 4 – Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

With our new life in Christ, What are we able to do? (see also: Romans 6:1-14 & 8:12-17)

Day 5 – Ephesians 2:13

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Where are you in relation to God now? (see also: Ephesians 1:5, Hebrews 10:19-22, & Matthew 11:28) What has brought you near? (see also: Romans 5:8-9)

Day 6 – Ephesians 2:18
“For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”

What is your current relationship with God according to this verse? (see also: Galatians 4:1-7, John 14:23, & 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Day 7 – Ephesians 2:19
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”

We are now members of God’s household and citizens of Gods Kingdom. How does this fact shape your identity? (see also : Philippians 3:8-11) What type of life does it inspire you to live? (see also: 2 Corinthians 6:3-10)

Ephesians study WEEK 1: What Love Has Done (the Gospel)

2011-11-20T21:18:00.001-05:00

Day 1) Ephesians 1:3-4
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

-According to verse 3, what title must Jesus hold in our lives?
What does it mean to make Him Lord? (See Matthew 16:24-26)

-How many spiritual blessings have we been blessed with? How many of God’s promises are ours through Christ? (See 2 Corinthians 1:19-20)

-According to the end of verse 4, what is our condition before God? (See 1 Corinthians 1:7-8

Day 2) Ephesians 1:5-6
In love ⁵ he predestined usfor adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

-What is our new relationship with God through the gospel? (See Galatians 4:4-7)

-What has God blessed us with in Christ? (See Romans 3:24-25)

Day 3) Ephesians 1:7
⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

-How was our redemption paid for? (See Hebrews 10:19-22)

-How were our sins forgiven? Was it according to our works? (See Colossians 2:13-15)

Day 4) Ephesians 1:9-10
⁹making knownto us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

-Through whom is heaven and earth united?

-Who has been left on earth to bring Heaven down? (See 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, 2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Day 5) Ephesians 1:11-12
¹¹In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

-What have we obtained? What is our inheritance like? (See 1 Peter 1:4-5)

-Who chose us and controls the tides of history? (See Acts 4:27-29)

Day 6) Ephesians 1:13-14
¹³In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,¹⁴who is the guarantee^[^d^] of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,^[^e^]to the praise of his glory.

-Who has Jesus sent to seal our salvation? What is He like? (See John 14:16-17,
John 14:26, John 16:13-14)

Day 7) Ephesians 1:20-21
²⁰that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come

-Where is Jesus now? (See Revelation 1:12-18, Philippians 2:9-11)

-What position does he currently hold?

Know and Believe

2011-11-16T14:31:00.001-05:00

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.”

1 john 4:16

Why do you live most of your life acting like God doesn’t really love you?

Why do I? If God loves me I have no fear—not of death, loss, lack—only the fear of the Lord. If God loves me I don’t need any accolades to feel valued. Don’t need to be famous. Don’t need others to think I’m important. The hunger so self-promotion is swallowed by being valued by the author of life.

The trick is this—have you come to know and BELIEVE the love God has for us? And if you do, have you learned the discipline of remaining in his love?

Behind Brave Generation 2012

2011-11-09T16:30:00.001-05:00

Every year our team hosts a regional conference to unify Christians across New England and ignite a passion to practice a lifestyle of authentic Christianity. We call these conferences “Brave Generation.” As most of us are aware, Christianity in America does not currently resemble an accurate picture of the Christianity of the scripture.

There’s a gap.

A big gap.

I believe that New England is one place where God is moving to close that gap. We are the least-churched region in America and yet among our ranks there is rising a non-celebrity driven, spiritually hungry, transparent, holy, remnant that seeks to live the lifestyle that Jesus modeled. Brave Generation is a gathering of that remnant from every state in New England. This coming year, we’re in Plymouth Massachusetts, America’s hometown, asking God to awaken this land in our day.

Our focus this year is “Foundations.” Of all the pieces to the puzzle that we have misplaced, our foundation is probably the most damaging. Professing Christians have become professionals in our irrelevant subculture—we can sing the songs, where the shirts, attend the meetings—but we don’t fundamentally know what we believe. We’ve never wrestled with the truth of the trinity, or examined how much influence the Holy Spirit is supposed to have according to scripture. In fact, many of us couldn’t explain what the Gospel is in our own words.

It’s time to change all that. I want to invite you to do it with us. Visit www.brave-generation.com for all the details.

Because

2011-11-02T15:17:00.001-04:00

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one died for all, therefore all died” 2 Corinthians 5:14

Because—that’s a HUGE word. It makes all the difference in the world. How did the apostle Paul get to a place where inwardly he was being compelled, pushed and controlled by the love of Christ? Did he work it up? Did he earn it? Nope. That conviction exploded out of his heart because of one seemingly unconnected fact.

Jesus died for all of us. He died for me. He died in my place as my representative. Therefore, in the eyes of the eternal God, I died. I already died, and if I already died then there’s no real need for me to die again. If I died once, I don’t need to die anymore. My body is of this world, so it will die—but that’s it. Because when He died I died too, my old life has ended. Now my life is His. When He rose I rose, no longer living the life of self, but instead living life by the resurrected Christ. This means His resurrected life is in me. I have a new heart—a heart that beats with His desires.

His love in me.

It controls me.

The love of Christ controls me because He died, I died, he rose, and now lives in me.

Wow. Crazy thought.

When the facts of heaven become more real to you than the facts of earth the love of Christ will control you too.

Community

2011-10-19T15:11:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know you? I mean really know you?

Of course, at the core the answer is no. God is the only one who really knows the inner parts of you. But as a follower of Jesus, you can be known by others in a deep, real way. It begins by taking a few risks that will put you out of the mainstream.

Trade going wide for going deep. In other words, let go of the transactional model of relationships. “I’ll give you this if you give me that.” In our world those relationships are hard to get rid of but among God’s family that level of relationship is not even close to what God has made available. The believer first finds his sufficiency in Jesus and this disables the strong forces of self preservation that often control us and limit our kindness.

Trade isolation for interdependence. In other words, get off of facebook and stop having your groceries delivered to your house. Interact with people. Be human. Step into relationships, where two believers don’t look for the other to complete them (Christ completes us) but still learn to lean and rely and walk with each other.

Trade a contract for a covenant. We think contractually in our culture. I will stick around until something better pops up, or things get uncomfortable. Then I’m breaking contract and I’m gone. Consider putting in roots that go deeper. Covenants are never broken.

The Tension of Now

2011-09-23T11:45:00.002-04:00

Today.

What did you do today that will be worth something tomorrow? Did you have that difficult conversation? Did you give of yourself sacrificially? Did you learn more about the nature of God and change the way you think about him? Did you worship God and allow his nearness to make you more like him? Did you say something that encouraged someone else? Did you give something that blessed someone else? Did you prepare for tomorrow?

Did you suck all the possible life out of today?

I was reading a news article about how some states are no longer allowing death row inmates to choose their last meal. I don’t know what you think about that. I’m honestly not sure what I think about that, but I know that chances are you and I won’t have the opportunity to choose our last meals, or our last day, or our last conversation.

Now is beautiful. God has given it to us because it's really all we could handle. For some reason the one gift he gave us is often times that thing we ignore,reaching and trying to control things that he never intended or permitted for us to control.

Don’t waste the opportunity of today. Use it for good. Use it for God and believe.

Faith Must Eat

2011-09-08T12:20:00.000-04:00

Faith must eat.

You have to feed your faith if you want to survive and overcome in this life. Faith eats big too, so expand your budget if you want a healthy faith. Are you currently feeding your faith? Are you intentional about the feeding of your faith?

Have you ever had a day that you were so busy that you forgot to eat lunch? I have. Did you ever forget to eat for an entire day? How about a week? Probably not.

If you and I can be intentional about feeding our bodies we should be all the more intentional to feed our faith. Whether you like it or not—though it may rub your theological paradigm the wrong way—your faith largely determines your results.

Think about this: if you had more faith, you would get more results. Let that simple truth sink into your brain. What are you doing to get more faith?

All things are possible, but not for everything—only for those who believe. I’ve walked into a time of prayer scared, overwhelmed, and doubting and left moments later courageous, passionate, and full of vision. What happened? I fed my faith.

If you aren’t disciplined in faith feeding, here are a few things you can do today to get the ball rolling:

-Memorize the promises of God

-Hang out with faith charged people as much as possible

-Keep a folder of prophetic words or times God has clearly spoken to you and review it daily

-Pray out loud God’s promises

-Read the biographies and life stories of people with great faith

Learning From William Booth

2011-08-24T12:36:00.001-04:00

I just finished a biography on William Booth. Booth is most famous for starting the Salvation Army. Today most people think of thrift stores and people ringing bells outside of Walmart when they hear about the Salvation Army, but this was not always the case.

The thing that impressed me most about Booth’s life was his insatiable hunger to see people meet Jesus. He gave up life’s pleasures, fought through brutal persecution, and spent himself whole-heartedly for the purpose of reaching people for Jesus. I think about how often you or I share about Jesus with those around us. Do you sacrifice a night off, the comfortable dinner, or even your favorite TV show to see souls saved?

The problem is that after reading this, maybe you will—but your sacrifice will come out of a sense of guilt. This was not the case with Booth. His sacrifice came out of a desperate love, and an understanding about the nature of God. He saw God as someone who was in the trenches—someone who was among the broken. He saw God as someone who had already modeled for us His nature in the person of Jesus on the cross. Too often today we view God as someone who is supposed to get us out of the trenches. We view Him as someone who will make us rich, comfortable and happy. It’s true that Jesus enriches, comforts and fills us with joy, but somewhere along the line we lost the plot.

Others. Simply. Completely. Unreservedly.

Others.

Faith Love and Roots

2011-08-17T15:18:00.001-04:00

“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (2 Thes 3:5).

Faith makes all the difference in the world. Whether we like it or not, Jesus constantly told his followers that they failed because of small faith. Other times, people got the breakthrough because of what Christ called “great faith.” Confidence, inward assurance—faith—made the difference.

Paul prays in the above passage for the church in this particular city. He prays that their hearts would be directed to the love of God. Paul understood that faith works through love. The more I know the love of God personally, the more confident I become. And the more confident I become the more grace can move through me. The more grace that moves through me, the more of heaven I can bring to earth.

Paul also prays that God would direct their hearts to the steadfastness of Christ. That’s rich. Steadfastness speaks of consistency. In Jesus we find consistency. He becomes my righteousness so I no longer need to wonder if God likes me today, or accepts me. He accepts me not because of my deeds but because of Christ’s deeds. Christ’s perfect right standing with God is transferred to me and this puts me in a place of ongoing, consistent relationship with God. My consistent relationship creates confidence, and confidence enables grace, so that heaven can come to earth through me.

Faith needs roots. We can’t just believe to believe. Faith must be rooted and grounded in love. The deeper you believe and trust in the love of Christ, the more of Christ’s life will manifest in your life.

Believe Him—more today than yesterday.

The Discipline of Vision

2011-08-10T15:42:00.001-04:00

Everyone likes the lights. Everyone likes the roar of a crowd and the great spiritual high of a big moment. Those moments are important. The give us a glimpse of what could be. They keep us motivated in the valley and help us see that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves.

I’m all for the big moments. But visions are realized through the valleys.

Who are you when no one else is watching? What are you doing while everyone else is sleeping, or watching a movie? Do you have a secret life with God that gives you the substance to stand in those big moments and actually have something to say?

Lots of Christians could tell you the right answer to a bible question but often times it’s because they heard someone else say the answer. Few have wrestled with God, seen the burning bush, heard the inner voice, and followed it. Don’t live your Christianity only regurgitating what other people learned when they met with God.

Seek. Ask. Knock. Do it every day. Day after day. No one is going to put your name on a poster and invite you to preach. But day after day after day God will be shaping you into someone worth listening to.

This is what the world is waiting to hear.

Cheap Wine

2011-08-04T15:00:00.001-04:00

“Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water” --Isaiah 1:22

This little sentence is not simply something God said. It is something God is. It’s important for anyone that would seek after the God of the Bible to understand that this God does hate certain things. One thing that He despises—one thing that He cannot tolerate from Genesis to Revelation—one thing that God has made abundantly clear and yet we have somehow forgotten—is that God hates mixture.

The above sentence found in the prophecy of Isaiah is surrounded by words of rebuke to a distracted, faithless people. They have walked away from God. Dross (for those of us who don’t know exactly what that is—me included) is a mass of solid impurities floating on top of molten metal. It’s the gunk that floats to the top when you heat metal up. The only trick is that if you scrape it off and let it dry, it can often times resemble silver. It’s worth nothing, but it looks like the real thing.

Wine mixed with water isn’t poison. It’s just diluted. We naturally think that God hates poison but instead God says that he hates cheap wine. Imagine standing before your spouse on your wedding day and saying, “my love, to you I pledge one day a week, ten percent of my money, and 15 minutes every morning.” Somehow, in our comfortable imposter that we call Christianity, these types of commitments are accepted.

But not so with God.

His level of commitment should scare you, shake you, and challenge you. It should drive you to a place of soul searching, deep consideration, and eventual self death. Has the One who scripture calls “the consuming fire” done the real work in your heart?

As he messes with our lives and ruins our plans, in the wreckage we can finally find something worth living and breathing for.

I Heart New Haven

2011-07-27T15:14:00.001-04:00

I believe that we are on the hinge of history. I believe that we will see something great in our lifetime. I believe that spiritual awakening is not as far as it sometimes may seem.

How long did it take for God to turn the hearts of the people of Nineveh? Could it be possible that we see cities change in a day? Even nations turn to God in a short period of time?

Last week me and a group of friends organized a day to serve the city of New Haven, Connecticut. For those of you who served with me, thank you. For those of you who prayed for this event, thank you. Over 1,400 people attended and thousands of dollars were invested in the people of the city. More than anything, thank you Jesus for providing the resources, drawing the people, and preparing the volunteers. Thank you Jesus, for the honor of spreading your glory in the center of our city.

I can’t explain to you what I’m feeling right now. I feel like I’m looking over a cliff about to enter a great fruitful valley. I believe that we will see churches in New England unite as never before. I believe that we’ll see cities in New England shaken by the love, compassion, generosity, and truth found only in Jesus.

The “I Heart New Haven” day was wonderful, but it’s pregame. Right now the Church of New England is poised to make the greatest impact in our regions rich history. Pray, fast,ask—but more than that believe. Dare to believe. Together let’s lift our eyes from our small little sphere’s and schedules and trust in a God who changes cities in a day.

Sin Kills

2011-07-20T14:17:00.001-04:00

Next time you have a few minutes read Psalm 38. It’s an intense psalm where Israel’s famous King David talks about what he is feeling from the results of his own sin. The bottom line: the cost is too high.

He talks about how the arrows of God have sunk into him. Have you ever had an arrow sticking out of your side? David probably had. It’s got to be a pretty life-changing experience. Imagine looking down and seeing this piece of wood jammed through your rib cage; the pain, the fear. God’s truth and justice were like arrows to David.

He says that there is no health in his bones. Your physical health suffers when you choose sin. Maybe your temptation isn’t street drugs or prostitutes—maybe it’s weed and pornography. No matter what, it kills everything. Your soul, your joy, even your health.

He says that there is no soundness in his flesh. How true is that? Sin throws everything out of whack. It’s like being seasick on a ship. Nothing stable.

David says that his wounds stink and fester because of his own foolishness. All day he goes about mourning. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever committed a sin against God and the shame of it chases your around? David says that the light of his eyes has gone from him. Think about that—the great lie of sin is that if you get a little more it will all be worth it. The problem is that in the process the sin robs you of all your life and freedom. You’ve seen the person; hardened by sin with eyes void of life.

Maybe you’ve been that person.

Sin steals from you the intangibles. The joy, the confidence, the peace. The momentary thrill of sin leaves you bankrupt, but somehow tricks you into believing that a little more of the same thing will be worth it all.

I encourage you today to examine Psalm 38 and learn from David’s pain. Develop a healthy hate for sin in all its forms. Holiness isn’t lame; it’s life. Let’s discover the inexpressible joy of holy living.

An Irresponsible Commitment

2011-07-13T12:58:00.001-04:00

I’ve been meditating recently on Mark 14:3-9. Here is the passage if you’re not familiar with the story:

And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. ⁴There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why was the ointment wasted like that? ⁵For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they scolded her. ⁶But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. ⁹And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her."

She broke the flask. Did you catch that? I’m not sure if I would have broken the flask. That perfume was worth about 300 days wages. Maybe $50,000 in our American economy. The bottle had to be worth some money. She broke it, and I believe she did it because she didn’t want to save a single drop. She made an irresponsible commitment. It was over the top. Lavish. Irresponsible.

Do those words accurately describe your commitment to Jesus? I think there’s nothing that pleases him more than this type of commitment. This woman understood that she was preparing him for burial. Her heart was in the position to comprehend the gospel, the coming death of Christ, and the eternal importance of this event. The disciples didn’t get it—but this woman got it. Those who are willing to live an irresponsibly committed lifestyle to Christ find themselves on the prophetic edge of what God is doing.

She was in the middle of the most important moments in human history because her heart was irresponsibly committed to Jesus. She wrote her life on the halls of history, and we are still talking about her today, because she was lavish and outrageous in her offering.

These are the type of people I want to run with. This is the type of person I want to be.

Big Changes

2011-07-08T11:28:00.000-04:00

“…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace…” Ephesians 4:1-3

There is something shifting in the hearts and minds of leaders across New England. I can feel it in the air. More than I’ve ever seen, people are eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit. Think about that—eager.

This morning I got up and my two year old son wanted a drink. He did a dance. He whined a little. He asked 274 times. He was eager to get a drink. Mature believers in Jesus are eager to walk with others and to be in unity. They go by the old mantra, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things, charity.”

It is not easy to genuinely prefer someone else. We all want our name in lights. We all want to be the center of attention—even if we don’t admit it. Its maturity that sees that selfish hunger, acknowledges it, and then crucifies it.

Scripture tells us to outdo one another in only one area. There is only one area where Christians should compete. We are told to outdo one another in honor. I long for the day where Christians try to honor their brother more than their brother honored them. That is a worthy completion.

Back to Radical

2011-06-29T10:07:00.000-04:00

“Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”

You just read Mark 11:22-23. Be honest, did you skim it? Did you read it quickly because you recognized it and noticed that you have read it before? Everyone knows the mountain verse. “Oh, yeah, the faith to move a mountain thing; got it.” Really. Have you got it?

When’s the last time you moved a mountain?

But Jesus wasn’t serious right? The guy who walked on water, killed a fig tree with his words, and fed thousands of people with a couple pieces of bread, then told us that we would do greater things—he was being allegorical with the whole mountain thing, right?

The danger of cultural Christianity is to become very comfortable with the very uncomfortable words of Jesus. We like to dumb them down, bring them to our level. We like to find ways to make them not apply. However uncomfortable it makes you, following Jesus means following someone who expects you to supersede the laws of the natural for the sake of advancing his kingdom through the supernatural. Faith has no limits. If you will trust, if you will believe, the impossible becomes possible. Think about this. The ceiling just got ripped off your life.

Jesus speaks these words, and then pretty much moves on to the next thing—leaving us scratching our heads and trying to reconcile his impossible promise with our rational mind. It won’t work. Following Jesus means changing teams. It means submitting your rational mind to the laws of the Spirit. Thank God for our brains, but they aren’t king. Spirit trumps soul and this is the path to the heart of God.

Don’t punt. Seek God for all he’s promised.

Fixing Your Lame Prayer Time

2011-06-17T11:09:00.001-04:00

What do you focus on? What did you focus on today?

Focus seems to be a lost art in our busy western 2011 culture. We’ve become masters at keeping our minds busy but never still; full but never focused. It’s no wonder that so many of us have a really hard time hearing God.

There is a power in focus that we must rediscover. The Psalms encourage us to “magnify the Lord.” Interesting idea. To magnify something does not mean to make it bigger. The ant doesn’t actually get any bigger when you look at it through a magnifying glass. To magnify means to make something bigger in your own estimation. It means to treat something bigger.

God is big and focus allows us to see him for who he is. Maybe you are being robbed of a life of nearness to God because you haven’t learned to focus. You will seek him and find him when you search with all your heart. The promise is certain. God can be found today; but a half-distracted mind won’t get you there.

Retrain your brain. Wait. It takes time.

A Light with No Light

2011-02-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

“Service for God is the great competitor of devotion to Him” Oswald Chambers

In Revelation chapter 2 we are given a picture of a church who has been working hard though they haven’t seen all the fruit. They have exposed lies and kept themselves pure in their faith in Jesus. They stayed positive through hard times. But the one thing they forgot about was the love they had for Jesus at first. In response He says that He will remove their lampstand and tells them to repent.

The scripture tells us that the lampstand is the church. But it's not the building, or the membership. Those things may remain but the lampstand is more than that. It's our light or our effectiveness in the world to show the gospel. When we lose our intimacy with Jesus while doing ministry work, we will lose our ability to impact the world.

Do you love the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit more than the vision God has given you for your life? It’s good to be excited about what you’re doing, but what does your intimate time with God look like?

Substance

2011-02-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

In Matthew 17 the disciples were trying to cast out a demon and could not. When Jesus arrives He says, “O faithless and twisted generation”. He takes care of the demon then, in private, the disciples ask Him why they couldn’t do it. He responds, “because of the littleness of you faith.”

Faith is the substance of things hoped for. When was the last time you prayed in real faith and not just routine? What if the things in your life aren’t where they are supposed to be because of your lack of faith? This idea has been abused by some, but it is a truth we need to test our hearts up against. Continue to press in and build up the true substance of your faith.

Idols

2011-01-19T10:50:00.000-05:00

Are you living your life in a way that demonstrates the power of the Lord and is free from these three idols?

Self Fulfillment—if I'm happy that is my definition of success. We tear it down with a Kingdom mindset: "I am here to serve others".

Intellectualism—if I can’t explain it then it’s impossible. We tear it down with true encounters with God.

Financial Security—“I’m gonna get mine.” We tear it down with radical acts of service. I will serve you even if you don’t think you need it.

Rich History

2011-01-12T10:19:00.001-05:00

In the book of Judges in the Bible God give’s Gideon his first assignment: go to your father’s house and pull down the altar of baal. Right in his own backyard, where he grew up he was sent to pull down the idols. He was threshing wheat in a winepress, hiding, hoping that he would not be noticed, and not wanting to cause a stir.

Sometimes we hide out in the daily grind, just doing what we have to do, wondering why God isn’t moving in our generation. Gideon responds to the angel of the Lord by going through the rich history of God’s works in the past. He knew that God overcame oppressors, worked miracles, and raised up people to execute His will in the world. But he still said “I can’t.”

When you’ve been given a mandate from God, this is the best place to be. If your response is “Oh yeah I think I can handle that”, then you are bound for a melt down until you either run away like Judas, or get to the place where you realize “I can’t” like Peter. When we are at the “I can’t” moment, God says, “but I’ll be with you.”

New England is the most spiritually rich region of the United States. Where is the generation that will remember God’s mighty works of the past and come to Him in complete dependence?

Three Prayers

2010-12-22T10:26:00.000-05:00

I recently read Craig Groeschel’s book “It” where he talks about three prayers. I want to pass it on to you.

Stretch me. We are way more capable than we sometimes realize and don’t always maximize our capacities unless circumstances demand it of us.

Ruin me. We must be people who know how to cultivate a burden for the lost, broken, and hurting. Our hearts grow a crust over time and we become insensitive to God’s love for others, poverty, the injustices of this world, and the reality of eternity.

Heal me. We know there are areas of our hearts that are backwards. Things like seeking people’s attention, insecurity, fear, unbelief, impatience, unkind words are all symptoms of the human condition.

Take out a piece of paper and pen. Take some time to really look at your heart. You’re not necessarily looking for deep hidden sin here. Really you just want to see what is there. Write out where you need to be stretched, ruined, and healed today.

Real Fellowship

2010-12-09T20:10:00.002-05:00

What do you think of when you hear the word fellowship? Fellowship is not hanging out watching a game, or bowling, or going shopping, or spending time with other Christians.

We learn about what true fellowship is from God. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit have been in fellowship from the beginning. John explains, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…All things were made through Him…in Him was the life and the life was the light of men. “ Fellowship is an exchange of the life of God. The Greek word “zoe” means—to possess life. The Godhead embodies a substance we cannot have without Him. In Him is the "zoe” life that illuminates people.

John tells us that the disciples experienced the manifested “zoe” through the man Jesus Christ. In 1 John 1:1-2 he describes how they looked upon the life, touched it, and are able to testify that it exists. That is what we do when we access His “zoe” life in us. We can see it in one another and share it with each other.

True fellowship takes intentional application of our faith. We must be aware of what the Lord is trying to say in the midst of our interactions, we must have honesty and transparency with one another to really experience the exchange of God’s life in us, and we must be humble in order to receive from one another.

Fellowship starts with ongoing communion between God and the believer. It spreads from there as two believers share from their heart the things of God with one another. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit and another believer today.

HOW TO GROW YOUR HEART

2010-11-15T14:23:00.002-05:00

Our hearts must be tended like a garden if we want to be godly. Remember when you were a kid and you would make jello with your mom? If you left the jello out all day a thin skin would form on the top. It's the same with our hearts. We form a skin over our hearts if they aren't properly cared for.

One of the best ways to grow your heart is prayer. Take time right now to do a little personal inventory.
When was the last time you wept for someone you didn't know?
When was the last time it bothered you that people around you are lost and on their way to eternal destruction?
When's the last time you felt the pain of the wife whose husband is in a prison because he preached the gospel?
When's the last time you were deeply bothered by the poverty in third world nations?

If you're still reading this right now, there's a good chance that you genuinely want to grow your heart. Ask God to let you feel his heart--then begin to pray for some of these needs that have no direct connection to your life. Do it for 10 days and I can promise you that the skin that's formed around your heart will start to come off. You will begin to love others more, and this love will taint and change the way everything else looks. You will get a taste of the heart of Jesus and your capacity to love will grow.

FRUSTRATING GRACE

2010-09-22T12:27:00.002-04:00

"I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness came by the law then Christ is dead in vain."
Gal 2:21

Does your attitude and actions towards God frustrate His grace? I think that mine sometimes do. Grace is unmerited favor--something I don't deserve but I'm freely given anyways. Any time I am defining my right standing with God through my own self-effort and not through the perfect righteousness of Christ in me, I am frustrating the grace of God. (Read that last sentence again).

God's entire system of life--His administration, runs by faith. Faith is the oil in the engine. It's what makes things happen in His kingdom. Faith is simply confidence in things that are invisible. How do we stand before God with confidence? It's not through perfect self examination. There are always hidden sins that I may not be aware of. If that is my road to confidence before God then I am forever doomed to feeling inadequate.

Confidence is found in the knowledge of the true work of the cross. Jesus took my place and is my representative before the Father. When God looks at me He does not treat me based on my personal righteousness but based on the perfection of Christ who dwells in me.

The more confident I become in Christ in me the more faith I can have when I approach God. The more faith I have the more of His gifts and grace I can access.

Imagine that you bought your friend this really nice car because they needed one. You saved, you sacrificed, you worked weekends. Finally you present them the car and they are so grateful. A week goes by and you find that they don't use the car. The feel unworthy of the gift. They don't understand that it's there's. They keep it in the garage and act like it belongs to you. Can you imagine how frustrating that would be!

God's not impressed by our attempts to earn his love and favor. He would much rather you believe in the grace that He has made available--and it's in believing that we are transformed.

NEW EP

2010-09-15T15:07:00.002-04:00

The band recently finished recording our new EP. This is our first time recording in well over 2 years and its been a long time coming. I am so excited to share with you soon the new music. I think that right now God is speaking to me most through the song "Overcome." Here are the lyrics:

Something is changing in the air
Something is rising all around us
She steps out to face the world
A bride who knows how much she is worth

And all around the words are heard

Overcome Overcome, mercy radiates beyond the pain
The One overcomes, Crucified He overtook the grave
Hallelujah

Every debt thrown into the sea
Every fear crushed beneath His holy feet
Guilt can't penetrate these walls
We've been ransomed by the one who traded all

And all around the world

The song ends on a simple truth:

I am blameless in His eyes

There has been a defeated, can't live holy, can't walk in victory, attitude in the church for a long time. God is washing it away in our day.

thank you father that I can come as close to you as Jesus Himself comes.

COWARDS AND KINGS

2010-08-14T21:32:00.003-04:00

"Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me yet I will be confident." -Psalm 27:3

There aren't too many people in the world who think like this anymore. Most people--most Christians are practical, calculated--strategic. In the scriptures, David was a kid who saw a giant taunting God and knew that God was bigger than the giant. It didn't matter if you sent an entire army against this guy. His confidence in the protection of God was audacious. It was crazy.

There's something inside of every one of us that wants to try something crazy. When I got married my wife and I started a new tradition. Every Christmas eve we watch "It's a Wonderful Life" together before we go to bed. There's a scene in the movie where George is so tired of playing it safe. He finds a girl that he's been friends with forever and asks her if she wants to climb a mountain, go swimming in a spring and run barefoot in the woods. She laughs at him and tells him that he's crazy. (don't get me wrong--i'm not endorsing taking off with some girl in the woods).

The point is that most of us never risk. Can you think of the last time you did something that was just crazy? Something that was bold and risky and creative. Someone once said that most people spend their lives waiting to live and never living. This isn't about walking the line of purity--far from it. This is about taking on huge things for God and daring to believe.

Maybe....just maybe God is waiting for someone like David to take on an army. It's much easier to watch the movie and live vicariously through a TV king rather than to live like a king yourself.

BIG PLANS

2010-07-30T10:36:00.002-04:00

Henrietta Mears once said, "There is no magic in small plans. When I consider my ministry i think of the world. Anything less than that would not be worthy of Christ, nor of His will for my life."

You may read that and think, "well I've never heard of Henrietta Mears so I guess her ministry never reached the world." The truth is that Mr.s Mears was a teacher who influenced the thinking and preaching of hundreds of leaders. Two people deeply impacted by her teaching were Bill Bright (founder of Campus Crusade) and Billy Graham. Henrietta Mears changed the world--her teachings and philosophies were carried by these two men to every corner of the earth. She may not be famous here, but my guess is that she might be pretty well known in heaven--because she had a bigger view.

Get rid of your small plan. Surviving, existing--these are small plans. When you and I catch a glimpse of the big God that we serve we can forever dispose of small plans and begin to think of the world. Maybe it's never happened in your town, or in your life time. Maybe you've tried and the change never came. God specializes in doing things that seem impossible. The Bible is a collection of impossible things that happened anyway.

Get up. Try again. Dare to dream big today.

THE POWER OF GRACE

2010-07-16T10:27:00.002-04:00

I've been on this journey where God is working His grace deeper and deeper into my heart. There are times where I know that He is working and I can't find the words to articulate what He's doing. Hebrews 10 14 says that by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. What does this mean?

It means that you and I can't add anything to the blood of Jesus. His sacrifice has perfectly cleansed me from all my sin for all time. If you just read that sentence and kind of blew past it, take a minute to read it again. "For all time"--what does that mean? It means that if you are born again you can have confidence when you approach God because He has taken your sin out of the way through the cross.

Massage this truth into your mind. Take time to read Hebrews 10:14-19.

SOMETHING NEW

2010-07-08T22:50:00.000-04:00

When's the last time you read something new? When's the last time you learned something new? There are really only a few types of people in the world. Some live like they know it all. Some live like they don't need to know it all. And some live in a constant state of learning.

Today I learned how to fly across a lake in a kayak. I'm not sure why, but I don't think I've ever been in a kayak before today. It's just one of those things that never made the to-do list. Today I learned and I can't wait to take my 3 year old son out in one.

Life is about learning--it may be safe to say that this is one of the great meanings of life. Scripture says that our purpose is sanctification. To be sanctified means to become more like Christ--to learn how to live Christ-like. It's a great shame when a person lives the same year after year.

Go on Amazon and buy a new book today. Be a student--always.

ALONE

2010-06-21T15:56:00.003-04:00

Alone is different then lonely. Lonely is when you need someone and you have no one. Lonely will kill you, but alone might save you.

People are afraid to be alone because they don't know who they are. We turn up the ipod, turn on the TV, and all of these things mask our fears about being alone.

If you ever want to know God, you have to embrace alone. It's true that community is a key aspect of growth in Christ. You can't become who you're supposed to be without community--but being alone is another key.

It's funny that this young generation has somehow managed to mess up both community and "aloneness." Moses was alone when he saw the burning bush. Joshua was alone when he met the angel. Jacob was alone when he wrestled with God. Jesus was alone in the garden before he was betrayed.

In those quiet places you find out who you are and you can hear the voice of God whisper softly about your destiny. Maybe the reason so many of us don't know what we're supposed to do with our lives is because we've never really learned about alone. Shut off the music--even the worship music for a while. Listen.

NEW 8 WEEK DEVOTIONAL--Free July 3rd

2010-06-16T12:31:00.001-04:00

On July 3rd Holyfire Ministries will be holding our second Spread the Fire event. This year, with the help of some friends, we are able to give everyone who attends a free 8 week devotional book. I just finished the book, and it's packed with meditations and scriptures that will rock your world. It's a great way you to keep your passion for God burning through the summer.

To attend Spread the Fire is free, and you can get all the info at www.holyfireministries.com. Here's day one of the devo:

Week 1: THE EMERGENCY

Day 1: Time to Break

Hosea 10:12 “Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.”

There are times for everything in life. Culturally, historically, and personally we enter different seasons in life. Right now, I’m convinced that the urgent need of believers is to break up the fallow ground. I’m not a farmer and you probably aren’t either—so let’s fill in some gaps. Fallow ground is farmland that has been sitting idle, usually left this way so that the fertility of the soil can be restored. As it sits a crust develops over the land, and it must be broken up if it’s ever going to be useful.

In a culture saturated by entertainment, the people of God have developed a crust. We look for lights and flashy preaching, and hi-tech gadgets; and too often forget the real substance of Christ. Too often our faith is based on the shallow foundation of Christian hype, rather than the sure foundation of Christ’s truth and love. Take some time today to break your crust. Seek the Lord until He comes. This means praying until you hear Him, hiding away with God until He speaks, seeking Him until you’ve found Him. Don’t take the fast-food version of God. Make hearing His voice the center of your day. Real life with Jesus grows by honestly engaging Him and seeking. Set time aside today to seek God until you find Him.

WAITING

2010-06-09T14:51:00.001-04:00

I hate waiting. I find that the vast majority of times that I'm unkind towards someone it's because they are making me wait. Impatience is the disease our culture. When was the last time you found yourself talking to your computer because you're waiting.

I was writing this while waiting and they just got here. until later then...

NUMB

2010-06-08T21:57:00.003-04:00

I don't think we realize how much we're effected by the things we hear and see. I like to look at life as a series of opportunities that float by. Sometimes we are unprepared and unaware and the opportunity goes by unnoticed but other times we are poised and aware and we grab a hold of the wave and ride it to shore.

We live in a culture that specializes in numbing the senses. Our over-stimulated world keeps our minds disconnected from ever thinking about anything deeply.

When's the last time you wept over someones pain? When was the last time you lost track of time as you prayed or worshiped God?

Take time to become sensitive. Turn the radio off in the car. Turn the ipod off on your jog--once in a while. Learn to breathe and hear your breath. Learn to move with God.

HOME SORT OF

2010-05-11T15:41:00.004-04:00

So we just got home from three weeks on the road and a night in my bed felt pretty good. We spent the last 21 days traveling across the country, challenging people to deal with the reality of eternity--and it was a blast.

After years of sharing Jesus, it still takes my breath away to watch someone come to Christ and experience His power. There is no greater joy than to watch a soul bend itself to the will of God and experience His grace, love and forgiveness. Our God is so faithful and good.

It's funny to be excited about getting home after you've spent the last three weeks emphasizing the truth that this world is not our home--and it's not. Thank God for a comfortable mattress and a familiar toilet, but home is something far greater. It's where my God is--it's heaven. This is what my heart searches for and what the heart of every believer searches for.

The old theologians called it "the pilgrim character." It's when the heart of a person disconnects from trying to build a lasting nest in this life and lives for eternity. What would it look like if an entire generation embraced a pilgrim character and lived for the eternal? No wonder people sold their possessions and homes in the New Testament. They had a different perspective. Could this truth be one of the forgotten misplaced truths that has held back the church in our day?

i think so. God raise up a generation that isn't afraid to live for eternity.

LOOKING BEYOND THIS LIFE

2010-04-16T20:57:00.004-04:00

Our team is still kind of decompressing from this past weekend and Brave Generation HE IS. At least I' m still decompressing. To deeply meditate on the nature of God is awe inspiring and overwhelming. I stand back amazed at the great God who is beyond comprehension.

We leave this Tuesday for the Eternity Tour. Three weeks across the country full of opportunities to bring people face to face with eternity. I'm excited--I think our whole crew is.

The last few days I've been trying to get my mind around the subject matter: seeing eternity. It's incredible how difficult it seems sometimes to catch a glimpse. We are so busy with all this "life" stuff that isn't really life at all. The responsibilities at work, the disagreement with a friend, the drama at home, the TV show you can't miss...and the list goes on. Still all along there's this big elephant in the room that we've conveniently allowed ourselves to ignore: I will die soon. This life is not about this life. This is not about me, or my skills, or my name in lights. To live life about me is to miss life completely. It's not about pleasure, it's not about things, it's not about anything I can see.

This life is about Him. Every breath, every word, every dollar, every thought. If I am to spend my day for eternity then everything must ebb and flow through, for, and in Him. This makes a broken temporal world cross the line into eternity.

Right now, God is training a people who have lost sight of the natural world. We don't love it--we don't live for the hype. We live for our God. He is the only One. He has captured our affections.

BRAVE GENERATION 2010 thoughts

2010-04-12T14:46:00.003-04:00

We are just landing from Brave Generation 2010 HE IS. It seems the more of these we do, the faster they go by. the weekend was a blur of teachings and intimate worship. I haven't personally been in an atmosphere that was so charged with the presence of God in a long long time.

If you were a part of the conference, I'd love to hear your thoughts. We haven't gotten final attendance numbers, but I don't think we could fit too many more people in the room. God is up to something great, and there is a growing hunger for Him. I may share more later, but for now, I turn the mic over to you...

NEW HORIZON

2010-03-24T23:15:00.002-04:00

What an adventure. Thank you to all of those who were a part of our first banquet. If you weren't a part, we would love you to be next year.

These past few months I have been spending countless hours preparing and planning my talks for brave generation 2010: HE IS. The process of preparation has been long, and sometimes difficult, but really sweet.

As I've walked through the different characteristics of God's nature I've progressively felt more and more overwhelmed by the topic. Staring into the nature of the God of eternity has to be the most intense experience in this life. He is far greater than words can ever express.

If you haven't registered yet, this weekend of April 9-10 is going to be something you don't want to miss. I have been deeply challenged and changed in the preparation of this conference and I really believe that God will do far more than transfer information--I believe that He has planned to walk among us and allow us to encounter Him.

My heart tells me that this is more than a good weekend for young people. This is a critical moment in God's bigger plan for New England. I believe that out of this weekend God will release people to bring awakening to every corner of the north east.

Let your prayers join mine, and lets see something happen that we've never seen before.
www.holyfireministries.com has more info about the conference.

THIS WILL MESS YOU UP

2010-02-07T23:29:00.002-05:00

I'm a little messed up inside. Do you ever feel like God is trying to do something on the inside of you, and it's sort of half-way done but He's still working it out in your spirit? Well, that's where I'm at.

I have been trying to get my heart around this truth of the love of God. Wow, it's difficult. It's so simple, but everything in my flesh wrestles against the idea of being loved the way scripture says I am loved. My soul wants it and needs it desperately, but still it fights against that type of love. I am not sure if it's afraid or unbelieving--or what, but the love of God is dangerous and overtaking--when you get a good look at it.

Romans 10:3 says that some people, "not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own...did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." Isn't that a wild thought? I have to purposefully, intentionally and regularly subject myself to His perfect righteousness. I need to take His perfection as my status before the Father. I need to accept it, put it one--like a man puts on a coat.

I need to take the perfect righteousness of Jesus, put it on and wear it all day. It gives me perfect communion with the Father and perfect relationship with a perfectly holy God.

Jesus starts off as our substitute--that's crazy enough. Then He identifies us with Him--so we are given His righteousness. This leads to our adoption so that we are now heirs to the full blessing that the Father God gives the Son. We rule with Him.

This love has far surpassed the realm of our vocabulary. It's so outlandishly beyond human love that there is no way that any human could have ever come up with it. If His love is not regularly blowing your mind then you need to stop and rethink what you claim to believe.

SPIRITUAL RED BULL

2010-02-01T09:30:00.003-05:00

"...in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith..."
--1 Tim 1:18b-19

Have you ever lost your passion? Have you ever gotten so busy that your zeal and focus seem to drift? It's easy to do. Hype wont keep you going, and a pep talk isn't enough.

I've found that real passion comes from a few different areas. One area is seeing God for who He is. When we get a glimpse of the Creator and a clear view of His nature and love, it lights something on the inside.

Another is seeing need. When a need becomes tangible and real it sparks passion.

Third, seeing yourself sparks passion. Getting a clear view of who God has called you to be ignites your heart with faith like nothing else. This one is probably the most often overlooked. When I find myself unmotivated or distracted I go back to the times when the voice of God spoke to me about my identity. I meditate on who I am in Christ and i meditate on His specific purpose for me. I go over the prophecies of the past. I remember the times His voice rang in my soul.

As I go back to these times, passion stirs within me again. Go back today and remember who you are.

UNDERSTANDING GOD

2010-01-27T13:26:00.002-05:00

Can we really understand God? The answer is yes---and no. Of course we can't understand everything about God. Of course we can't see everything clearly from our limited perspective. In this life we will always see in part.

Throughout history different cultures have had different ideas about God's nature. One of the key things that differentiated the Hebrew God of scripture from other concepts of god was that He was almighty and all-powerful---and yet very personal.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of Bill and Jim and Lucy and you and me. He is a deeply personal being who wants to be known in a personal way. Too often we fail on one side or the other. We either make God so big in our minds that we assume He's unknowable and distant, or we make God so small in our minds that we believe He's unable to handle our smallest problems.

To do either of these things is to rob God of the real mystery that He is. He is both HUGE and personal. I can know Him. He has come close and I can know Him.

crazy...

FAITH AND LOVE

2010-01-24T13:25:00.002-05:00

"...but faith working through love." --Galations 5:6

How does faith work? We all know about faith, and we are told that it moves mountains, but how does it work? How does it become a practical change agent in my life?

It works through love. I've read this verse 100 times and I've always looked at it from the same angle. If I want more faith, I've got to love more because more love equals more faith---right?

I don't know about you but for me it's pretty tough just to choose to love more. In fact, I think that trying to love more by simply choosing to love more is impossible. That's not the way love works. You can't just make it happen. It needs a source. This is why faith cannot and will not work primarily through our love. Our love is too shallow, too quickly emptied.

Faith works through God's love. I can grow the love working in me by beholding, realizing and accepting the love that has been poured out on me. When I begin to catch a glimpse of the God of love, and how much He cares for me--How incredible and unsearchable and unending His love is--when I can see that clearly, then my love is set ablaze. Then I can love on a whole new level because I have been loved. Those who have unending love and patience are not finding it from themselves. They are drinking from the well of the God. Once I've tapped into His love for more, and let that truth tower over me, mess me up, and overtake me, then I can have huge faith. Then I can be confident.

Don't try to find greater love for others from within yourself. Find the love of God and you will have more than enough love for others. Don't try to find faith from rwithin yourself. Gaze at the love of God and your heart will take hold of faith.

The most confident person is the one who knows without a doubt that he is loved.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE SAVED?

2010-01-10T14:06:00.005-05:00

This is a question that we are answering directly and indirectly through Christian evangelism, church services, and our personal witness. What does it take? What does God expect? How does a person come to salvation in Jesus?

I think this is one of the key areas where the culture has influenced the answer that the church is giving. So much so, sometimes, that we teach a half truth and leave people uncertain of God's expectation. We've created a microwave version of salvation---fill out a card, and come to the front of a church. Too often it leaves people unchanged and discredits true regeneration. (I don't mind cards or church alters, but we've lost the substance somewhere in our structure).

I'll throw some thoughts out briefly in this blog, but I strongly encourage you to take time to stare this question in the face for a while.

Salvation begins with an awareness of God's existence, His holiness and my sin. This is where the road begins. He's real, and I am separated from Him. Most of us have heard this and agree with it. He is a loving, just God who has made a way through Christ for sinners to be forgiven and transformed. Jesus said you must be born again if you want to see God's kingdom.

Next comes our response to this reality. The sinner must repent--change his purpose--and turn away from a life focused on self. This is what most evangelists today call "making a decision for Christ." This is a key part of the road, but the road can't end here. Too many professing Christians make a decision to follow God and think they are saved. However, many times repentance is not accompanied by faith. They turn away, but never reach up to Christ and receive His Spirit into their hearts. Others trust Jesus but never embrace repentance. So repentance and faith are the ingredients to salvation--not one or the other alone.

The final step that is often overlooked in our "microwave version" is that the inward grace must actually be transferred to the new believer. They must receive something from God.

He must step out of heaven and come to reside inside of them. No one can convince you that this has happened to you. Your faith must take hold of His truth and then you can be born again. Then, an assurance will fill your heart and you will know that you are forgiven.

Too often professing Christians have never experienced the inward grace of God, but it is this inward dwelling of Jesus in the believer that propels us and inspires us to live for Him. The real Christian shouldn't have to be convinced to follow and obey Jesus. The Spirit of Jesus within them is already pulling them closer. We can become dry, distracted, or unwilling, but God's Spirit will be pulling on our heart to return--because He resides in us.

Unless you are born again you can't see the kingdom of God. First God's truth, then our choice to repent and believe. Then our faith contacts God's grace and the inward dwelling of God's Spirit becomes a reality. If you don't know God's grace inwardly, then your faith hasn't taken hold of it. Trust Him--and His truth, and let your salvation rest on it.

THE NATURE OF GOD

2010-01-06T15:18:00.002-05:00

In preparation for Brave Generation 2010: HE IS, I've been spending a lot of time saturating my thoughts in God's nature. What an overwhelming topic---and a profoundly rewarding one.

Although there is a part of God that simply cannot be understood my our minds, there are also key components of His nature that He wants His children to understand so that they can anticipate and expect certain things of Him. My most recent study has landed me in Exodus 34:14 where it says, "for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Whenever God says that His name is something He's not referring to what He does--He is telling us who He is--and what His foundational nature is like.

It kind of messes with my head to think that God is jealous. We usually associate jealousy with evil, selfish actions that are far lower than our expectations of God. But the scripture teaches of a righteous jealousy. It's a jealousy that has given all--and expects all to be given in response. God by nature is a being who shudders at the idea of half-way commitment. He is extreme and exhaustive in His commitments, committing irrevocably. This is why the book of Revelation speaks of a lukewarm life as something that makes God throw up. It's against His nature. He is a righteously jealous God.

How do we interact with such a being? We must come on His terms. We either fully devote ourselves to Him or we fully reject Him. He is patient, and kind, and I'm grateful for that. But we should be careful to never take for granted God's patience.

He is also passionately , righteously, jealous.

TAKING HOLD OF TOMORROW

2009-12-30T08:08:00.002-05:00

"Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." --James 4:14

It would do us good to read a verse like this one every morning before our feet hit the floor. As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, I find myself reflecting often on verses like this. It's amazing how one event can change the way everything else plays out in life. We can plan, and I'm all for planning, but in the end our time is in His hands.

Some translations say our lives are like the "morning fog." One scholar commented on this verse that scientists can predict with incredible accuracy the rising and setting of the sun, but they can't predict the fog--if it will burn up with the rising sun or if it will linger in the fields well into the day. Life can't be predicted and measured. We may live another 80 years or walk off this planet tomorrow.

There's something inside of every one of us that fights this idea of eternity. Something pushes it outside of our minds and compels us not to wrestle with its reality. We get tangled up in all the things of life--what we had for lunch, what TV show is on tonight, who won the big game last week, how our investments are looking, etc.

I find myself coming back to one simple question. Does my life make sense in the light of eternity? Did my life today make sense in the light of eternity? I don't know if there is a more important question that we can ask ourselves.

It's worth taking some time and wrestling with this question today.

TRUE CHRISTMAS STILL ON--PLUS SUNDAY

2009-12-19T11:17:00.002-05:00

hey friends,

I wanted to let you know about True Christmas Tonight. The snow is falling (or will be) and friends are calling---but we're still on. We've added a second showing of TRUE CHRISTMAS for all you out-of towners who wont be able to make it because of the weather. That will be tomorrow night, Sunday at 6pm at Frontline Christian Church in Hamden, CT. With snow heavy or light, crowds big or small, these two nights are sure to be a great time. Hope to see you then!

WHAT IS TRUE CHRISTMAS?

2009-12-15T09:21:00.003-05:00

Christmas is right around the corner and if you're like me, you're probably scrambling to finish your shopping and get things in order. This year our team at HFM decided to put together a night to celebrate and explore the heart of Christmas.

It's going to be filled with some classic Christmas music (we put a new spin on some stuff), some new Out of Hiding music, and a message woven throughout the night. We also included some drama and video stuff to keep things interesting.

Along with the Christmas presentation, this night marks the early release of my first full book, "Living for Another World." It took me almost three years to write, and I can't tell you how excited I am to make it available. The book deals with the struggle so many of us have to make real impact for Jesus, and how we can learn to live for eternity by changing some key thought patterns and actions.

This may sound a little lame, but I have been challenged as I've re-read through it. God's used it to reawaken truths in me--I hope He will for you too.

This Saturday Dec 19 "True Christmas" will be help at Frontline Christian Church in Hamden, CT. The night begins at 7pm and tickets can be bought only at the door for $8. Come early if you'd like. My book will be for sale in the cafe for $10.

Hope to see you then--and Merry Christmas!

TRUE CHRISTMAS?

2009-12-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

Christmas is coming, and this year I've been taking time to relook at things. I believe that part of the calling of this generation is to rediscover some things that have been lost. One thing that must be rediscovered is Christmas. If I am honest with myself, this time of year has had little spiritual impact on me in the past. I enjoy it--time with family, giving gifts--but it hasn't been rich with meaningful encounters with Jesus. What about you?

Sometimes we trade what's good for what's best. Family and tradition can be really good things. I have two little boys, and Chrisy and I are figuring out how to shape their view, and our families practices of this season. Still I find myself looking for more--more than what I've had.

I want to be blown away by the reality of God coming to earth. I want to see it, feel it, and be brought to my knees in wonder. I want to celebrate--but really in my soul celebrate the incarnation of the living God in human flesh.

I encourage you to join me if you want to pursue a glimpse of true Christmas on Saturday, Dec 19 at Frontline Christian Church in Hamden, CT. Things will get going at 7pm. Come early for good seats. Out of Hiding has put together a Christmas Concert and I will be sharing some thoughts on this subject. We've also planned a few surprises. Tickets are $8 and can only be bought at the door.

Hope to see you then.

THE BIG ONE

2009-11-26T08:42:00.002-05:00

"If you will not believe you surely shall not last" -Isaiah 7:9

I wonder how much we miss out on because of unbelief. The more time I spend with Jesus the more I realize how much unbelief has been hiding in the corners of my heart. It cripples you, and stops the flow of God's grace in your life. Everything in the kingdom of God flows through the power line of faith.

I recently read a quote from the late Katherine Kuhlman. She said, "It is when active faith dares to believe God to the point of action that something has to happen."

Faith that moves--that takes big steps--this is the kind of faith that changes the world. In a cynical culture of unbelieving skeptics someone invested in the invisible will often stand alone.

Many times our faith is based in how good we've been rather than how good HE is. You may be reading this right now thinking about how evil your heart has been--how could you ever come to God with big faith?

"if you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?" Matt 7:11

Faith is based on Him--not us. I challenge you today to come to God with big faith.

BEHOLDING THE LORD

2009-11-23T21:02:00.002-05:00

God put something in particular on my heart to share. Maybe you are reading this right now and He had me write this for you. There are many different ways people can pray. There's worship, intercession, thankful prayers, self-focused prayers, waiting prayer, and a million other experiences that are part of the bigger prayer picture for the follower of Jesus.

One special type of prayer that is often overlooked is what is sometimes called, "beholding the Lord." It's not really the type of prayer you can teach, like intercession or worship. It's something that you learn as you learn to operate in the presence of God. There are times when the most pleasing prayer to God is this "beholding" prayer.

What is it? It's that moment when you sense His presence in your spirit. You inwardly become aware of God, that He is near and you can sense His peace and His rest in your heart. This may come after a time of worship or meditation. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere. But then, in that moment, when we are often quick to move onto the next thing, beholding the Lord requires you to stop.

You don't say anything. You don't do anything. You just fix your inner eyes and gaze upon Him. It's in these moments that He may speak one word, and you heart takes hold of it more that 1,000 words you read or hear someone say. If He says nothing to your spirit, it's these moments of closeness that breathe life into the core of your soul.

The band Lifehouse has a song with a lyric that reads, "I've been hanging on every word you say / and even if you don't want to speak tonight that's alright with me/ Cause I want nothing more than to sit outside heavens door and listen to you breathe / that's where I want to be..."

Take time to behold the Lord. Climb up close. And just be there a while.

LIGHT IT UP

2009-11-11T20:30:00.002-05:00

Light is incredible. The more you think about it, the crazier and cooler it is. In college I took a course where we examined things that people take for granted that are largely mystery. One of the things we studied is light. Scientists are still trying to figure out what it is. Some studies show light as a wave--others show it as a particle. This very foundational part of life does not fit into the boxes of modern science. Light at its core is still a mystery.

They say that the human eye only sees light. We don't see objects. You don't actually see the computer screen right now. You think you do, but you actually see light reflecting off the screen. Your eye doesn't process images, it processes light. So if all the light was taken away the object would not be able to be picked up by the human eye.

Scripture talks about the eyes of the heart. It speaks of a different pair of eyes that are buried within each person. The Apostle Paul said that these inner eyes aren't crystal clear, but we can learn to improve our vision. He said we see through a mirror dimly. In New Testament times mirrors weren't made out of glass--they were made out of medal and often times the medal would be tarnished or warped and it was difficult to get a clear view of your image.

The word "dimly" in this scripture means "in a story, an enigma, or a puzzle." We don't see life like it is. the inner eye of the individual doesn't have enough light in this dark world to see clearly.

That's why God is called the Father of Lights. He is the only one in the universe who can see reality without shadows or misunderstandings. He sees things exactly as they are. He sees whats truly true when we can't (which is always, apart from His help).

Its funny to me how often we struggle to trust God. He tells us truth from a fully informed perspective and we judge it and question it from our darkened point of view.

KEEPING IT FRESH

2009-10-30T08:18:00.002-04:00

I'm reminded this morning about how important it is to keep your walk with God fresh. Imagine going on a date with your girlfriend or boyfriend and always going to the same restaurant. Imagine always eating the same food and saying the same things to each other. It wouldn't take long before the relationship dried up and died.

Yet our strategy in relationship with God is often this way.

Daily time alone with Jesus is a must. We must spend time alone to hear His voice, meditate on the scripture and seek His face. Routines are important and discipline is important, and this is where the journey begins--but it can't just stay there.

Once you have developed a daily time with God and you are studying His word regularly, you've got to then learn to keep it fresh. Here are some things I sometimes do:

-Find new songs to sing to God
-Read a different translation of the Bible (i like NASB, Amplified, Living Bible, Message)
-Find a different location to get alone
-Take a walk with God rather than staying in one place
-Introduce a new piece of Christian literature

This time alone should be blazing hot--it's not always going to be exciting, and there are times when we just need to push through with discipline. But the times of breakthrough come when we are consistent and always on the edge of our seats expecting His voice.

Do something fresh in your time with God today.

LEARNING TO SNORT

2009-10-16T11:42:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite stories in the gospels is the story of Lazarus. He dies while Jesus is out of town and then Jesus comes and raises him from the dead. It's a cool story for numerous reasons but this morning when I read it something jumped off the page.

Twice in the story it says that Jesus was "moved" with compassion in His spirit. Some translations read that He inwardly groaned. He was moved by the situation--His friend dead, Lazarus' sisters weeping--the sorrow of death.

But that's not the only way Jesus was moved. The greek word that's being translated "moved" means a lot more than that. It's a combination of two words :"in" and the word, "to snort with anger." In other words Jesus was inwardly snorting with anger.

His inner groaning was one of anger that said, "this should not be." The God we serve hates sin and sickness and death. He came to earth to undo the work of sin and death that satan did. For Jesus to see His friend die prematurely was unacceptable. He was enraged.

Miracles start to happen when we begin to groan inwardly. Great moves of God come out of great inner turmoil. We have got to hate sin and sickness and bondage. We've got to hate anything that is not God's abundant life. We've got to hate the fact that people are starving in Africa, that young people in America are trading joy and peace for sin and bondage. We must inwardly snort--not at people or circumstance--but at the prince of this world--and then fight in faith to see God's kingdom come.

We live in territory occupied by the enemy and we have the deposit of the Spirit. We don't yet see God's kingdom coming in all areas of life but we can advance His kingdom by faith.

Let's learn to snort with anger on the inside.

INTERCESSION

2009-10-15T07:47:00.004-04:00

Intercession is one of the more forgotten weapons of the follower of Jesus. The word "intercede" literally means to plead for someone else; to stand as a go-between.

There are two critical weapons that can only be accessed for the Christian through intercession. The first is that we can change the outcome of events and situations. In the book of Acts the Apostle Peter is thrown in prison for preaching the gospel and the we read, "So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church of God." (Acts 12:5). The next thing that happens is an angel shows up and leads Peter out of the prison cell. The fervent prayers of the church produced a direct breakthrough for Peter.

When you are faced with a situation, the first thing to do is to find God's heart on the matter. Search the scriptures and seek God until His will is clear in your heart. Then begin to pray--not just "whatever your will God, do it." Instead pray His will. It's His will for the lost to be saved, the sick to be healed and the bound to be freed. He's already told us this--so we can intercede for His will to come to pass. I am convinced that if we will ask, we will receive. Keep asking, seeking and knocking for the revealed will of God to be done. We are in a war, and battles must be fought and won through faith and prayer.

Secondly, intercession sweetens the soul. When you begin to cry out for your friend to be saved or healed, God's heart of compassion is transferred to you. You will start to love what He loves and hate what He hates. If you find yourself lacking passion for the things of God and not having much fervency, it is most likely because you have not been interceding. Intercession gives you access to feel the emotions and desires of God. It produces what some preachers have called "unction." There is a fervency and a zeal behind what you say and do because you have sat at the feet of the king and sensed His heart.

We must learn to intercede--every believer--not just a few. If we are going to go to a new place in Jesus, we have to learn to impact the outcome of events through prayer, and carry the heart of God. Intercession is the door.

BIG IDEAS

2009-10-09T10:35:00.003-04:00

How big is God? This coming spring Holyfire Ministries is hosting a conference called, "He Is." The conference will focus around the nature and character of God. When the Holy Spirit first dropped this topic on me I didn't realize how challenging it would be--or how critical is was to truly see God as He is.

Since the early spring I've been spending time trying to get a better grasp on the nature of God. It's a topic worthy of intense study. How we see Him largely controls how we see the world--but it's also the most intimidating and oversized study for the mind of man.

Today I've been stuck on Isaiah 40:28. It tells us that God's understanding is "inscrutable." Now, if you're like me inscrutable is not a word you use every day, so I had to do some digging in order to understand. The scripture literally translates, "there is no searching of His understanding." It is beyond examination--it's a well that's too deep. No one can fathom the depths. If you plunged into it and spent 1,000 years going down, you would still only be a the surface of the understanding of God.

It's funny that with a God like that, we expect to understand everything He does. As soon as something happens that doesn't seem to fit our little box of God, we often fall into unbelief. We question God and even stop trusting Him.

I think the point Isaiah is trying to make is that if there weren't times when we didn't understand God then He wouldn't be God. His mind is bigger than ours and we have to be OK with not knowing sometimes. This is what Jesus meant when He said the kingdom belongs to little children.

My three year-old son has never asked me if I paid the electric bill. He doesn't worry, and He doesn't care. He works from a place of absolute trust in Dad. That's the way it works.

THE FIRE OF HOPE

2009-10-07T08:08:00.003-04:00

"And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." --Romans 5:5

Hope is the fuel of the soul. For the person who wants to stay hot for God, hope must be intentionally stoked. You have to take time to develop your hope, allow yourself to dream. Hope is the beginning of faith--it can grow into faith if you cultivate it.

The foundation of all hope is in the character of God. I have hope because I've become fully convinced in the type of God that He is. I can be sure because His nature is sure in my eyes. The foundational quality of God that should release hope in the heart of the believer is His love. I hope because the maker of all things, the source of all life--the eternal, living, ruling God--loves me--a lot.

How much does He love you? This verse in Romans says that His love has been poured out on us. Interestingly, there is more than one word in the greek for "pour." Each word has its own nuance. This particular word that is used in Romans 5 for pour means to completely empty upon. It pictures a glass that has been tipped over so that all the liquid in the glass comes out. It means to dump on until there is no more left to dump.

Think about this. The God is the universe has chosen to spend all of His love--to empty His love on you and me. He's poured out all the love He has to pour out on us. If ever there was a reason to hope, this is it. He loves us.

WOW

2009-09-28T14:34:00.003-04:00

"For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." --Hebrews 10:14

Sometimes I'll read a certain passage in the Bible and it feels like God is waiting there behind it. As soon as i read it, His tangible presence is released. Today, this was one of those verses.

I think one of the hardest things for the human mind to grasp is this grace principle that is at the very core of the gospel. Sometimes, we are even afraid to talk about it, for fear that people will take God's grace as a license to sin. We have got to look the real truth about grace in the face and let its blinding light knock us down.

What does the writer of Hebrews mean when he says that by one offering God has perfected for all time those who are sanctified? Of course, the one offering that he mentions is Christ's death on the cross. So by the cross, in the eyes of God the Father, we are perfected. This is what Jesus has done for us--He has perfected us in the spirit. No more guilt. Perfected. Perfected--in the eyes of the perfect one.

If you are walking in the light and you are readily confessing any known sin and forsaking it, then you should be enjoying unhindered, uninterrupted fellowship with God.

Verse 12 says that the sacrifice of Jesus was for all sins for all time and that Jesus sat down at the Fathers right hand. He sat down because the work was done. There is nothing more that God can do to express His love or deliver His people. It really is finished.

Whats left is our part. We have got to draw near--because we can. (Heb 10:22). But, we have to draw near in a particular way--with confidence--a sincere heart and full assurance of faith.

If this stuff doesn't stir you up and ignite something in your heart, then read it again until it does. Hang out in Romans 3 and Hebrews 10and Galations where it talks about sonship. Get this in you daily and then live out of it. Wow.

SEEING GOD

2009-09-27T08:20:00.003-04:00

This is an incredible time to be alive. I believe it's a time when God is going to break through and do things that many of us have been waiting for--right now--it's faith that grabs the attention of God.

I've been reading this book by jentezen franklin called fasting. In the book, he talks about magnifying God. I've been thinking and expanding on that thought, and it's stirring me to a new place of worship.

Think for a second about a magnifying glass. It doesn't actually make the object you're looking at any bigger--it just makes it bigger in your sight. It also blocks out all the stuff around the object you're focusing on. Lastly, you able able to see the intricacies of the object when you magnify it.

Psalm 34 tells us to magnify God. We can't make Him any bigger, but we can make Him bigger in our sight. When we magnify Him it blocks out all the peripheral stuff of life--it also allows us to see His intricacies.

Magnify Him with me.

WAITING AND GOING

2009-09-17T13:32:00.003-04:00

Just got back from some time in Boston with a few friends. Some of our conversation prompted this post today. I think a lot of Christians struggle with the tension between waiting on God and making something happen. Am I supposed to wait for the perfect husband or wife to fall from the sky or am I supposed to get out there and meet people? Am I supposed to look for that perfect job, or wait for God to bring it to me? We know we are told to wait on God--but we are also told to GO and spread the kingdom. So when do we wait and when do we go?

There is no easy answer for this, but I have a few thoughts. In John 5:6 Jesus encounters a man who is sitting by a pool waiting for a miracle. The guy had been sick for 38 years and so far his pool-sitting strategy hadn't paid off. Jesus walks up to the man and asks an incredibly odd question. He says, "do you want to get well?"

Think about this--the guy is unable to walk and very sick. What person, in that condition would not want to get well? Obviously the man wants to get well--no one enjoys sickness and pain, so what is Jesus driving at with His question?

It's funny how the human psyche works. There are many things that we want, but we never act on our desires. Some people talk about wanting to lose weight but never exercise, or wanting to buy a house, but they never look for one, or wanting to learn to play an instrument but never practice. How many people want to quit smoking, but smoke their entire lives, or want to stop drinking and never do? These wants are only "head wants" rather than "heart wants." We don't want it bad enough to do something different.

In the story with the guy by the pool, Jesus was introducing the new covenant to humanity. The old covenant is the covenant of the law, with its washings to become clean. The crippled man had to get in the pool to get his miracle, but Jesus was there to extend the kingdom by faith. Now,all the man had to do was get up and stand to his feet. That act of faith would heal him. He had to do something--and it was something that didn't fit into how he though healing could come.

Scripture doesn't tell us that Jesus prayed for him or pulled him up. The guy just stood and it was done. How many of us have wants and desires that never reach into the supernatural and find their fulfillment? In many cases, our breakthrough does not come because we are waiting for God to tell us things He's already told us. All thing are possible to him who believes--all things, not some things.

Do you want to change? Are you willing to risk and act?

WHEN GOD STIRS THE HEART

2009-09-06T08:39:00.003-04:00

"The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia..." (Ezra 1:1)

In this story of Ezra in the Old Testament we read about a time where the people of Israel were in captivity and God had destined for their return. Everything in the natural looked bleak. Israel as a nation had been conquered and the people were spread out all over the middle east. In the midst of this despair, God prophesied through Jeremiah that He would gather His people back to Jerusalem. So God stirs the heart of a pagan king and stirs the hearts of thousands of scattered Hebrews. The king makes a decree and all the Hebrews are released to return to their homeland.

The stirring of the Lord is a key to knowing what God is going to accomplish in the future. If we can see what God is stirring in our hearts, and then recognize that same stirring in the hearts of others, this is the first first big indication that God is working to prepare us for change.

I believe that right now God is stirring Christians to become desperately tired of the plastic Christianity that we have become accustomed to. I find the stirring in my heart, and I've found it in the hearts of many others scattered across this country. We are so tired of the Christian routine.

Our heart cries for substance. Real community, real power, real sacrificial love. Something is stirring in the hearts of people in America and I am convinced that the stirring is from God. He wants to pour out His Spirit and revive the church to reach this lost generation.

This stirring is a sign that God will do what He's planned. Just as Cyrus and the Hebrew people had to follow the stirring of God, so must we. Seek Him until He is found.

ADVENTURES IN MISSING THE POINT

2009-09-04T23:26:00.003-04:00

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him."
--John 1:10.

The story of God and humanity is the story of a God who has made countless attempts to get the attention of His creatures, but they have been far too busy with their own initiatives. There is something about every one of us that is just-----well, clueless.

In the days of the disciples, as Jesus is preparing to die for the sins of the world, they are arguing about who is the greatest. Today, with a world running into hell, churches argue and compete over "stolen sheep." While Jesus was sweating blood before He was betrayed, His followers were sleeping. Typical.

God wants to get the attention of the world, so He straps on human flesh and walks among us, and the people don't recognize Him. We read this verse and think, "how could they be so stupid!" and then we commit the same crime.

The Holy Spirit has been opening my eyes to how often I miss what He's doing. I find myself asking God to bless my schedule, rather than spend my time following His schedule. I've become convinced that most Christians have never made the effort to learn the language of God, and so they miss His appointments and compromise His perfect plan.

We have to learn to listen. We have to become aware of what He is saying. I'm not trying to suggest that we all sit around and do nothing until we hear a voice from the clouds, but I am saying that sensitivity to His leading in the moment has been swallowed in our nano-second culture.

I can only imagine living 2000 years ago and looking into the eyes of a carpenter from Nazareth. Would I have seen through the sweat and the beard and realized that the creator of the universe was dwelling within that frame?

He wants to get your attention today.

ON COMMUNITY

2009-08-31T08:14:00.003-04:00

One of the big gaps that exists in the body of Christ today is real community. It's been one of those things that's like grabbing a hold of a fish. Everyone wants it, but it's slippery and it's not as easy as it seems.

Why is community so important? Well, there's a number of reasons. First there's the synergy factor; people can get more done together than they could working separately. But there's also something very intangible about community. Just as the flu spreads rapidly among those who live together, passion for Jesus and spiritual fire spreads rapidly in real Jesus community. Anyone who made a huge difference, long term in the history of Christianity had others around them who were burning for God.

Today we look at the brotherhood on football teams, or stories like the three musketeers and our heart is inspired by these men who would die for each other. It's this band of brothers thing.

I've been to hundreds of churches over the past few years and met hundreds of people who really love Jesus and really want community. The problem is that it can't be something you add to your organization. You can't do your "church routine" and then fit in community time afterward at a picnic. When we try to do this, community comes off as forced and thin. Real community needs to be at the center, pulsing through every aspect of life. Real community is invasive. It's intense.

Can you find in your heart this longing to run hard for God with a band of brothers? Can you imagine sitting in on a prayer meeting with James,and Paul and Peter--men who had risked their lives for each other? Chase it. Pursue God for it. Let's scrape away for fake bologna and find some real community.

THE ROCK

2009-08-28T08:03:00.002-04:00

"From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I" (psalm 61:2). Something about that verse jumped off the page to me today. This is the posture of the true Christian. This is a piece of what we are missing today in our faith.

There's a persistence that has been lost in pop-culture Christianity. It's that persistence that caused the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25 after 12 years of suffering with her condition to still push through a mob of people for the chance to touch Jesus. David in his psalm commits to call from the end of the earth. There is no border or limit too far. In the time of need, I will seek until God is found. I seek until something happens.

What's Davids focus? The rock. The strong, reliable thing that will not move. He's going to cry out until he finds the rock. The only way to find it is to know where it is--and David knows. It's higher than him.

I pray that God would raise up a humble, desperate, persistent generation that would seek God until he is found. I recently heard something about Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in Daniel 3 that I've been thinking about. They didn't put their faith in the God who just delivers from the fire--they sought the God who walks with them in the fire.

THE SUPREME COURT

2009-08-27T08:01:00.003-04:00

I am convinced in the inspiration of scripture. It's a crazy thing to really believe that over 66 books and various authors something completely true would emerge. It's an incredible miracle of God. I think we get confused sometimes because we feel like we're getting mixed messages about God's nature or His desires from different parts of the Bible.

Satan would love to use that uncertainty to breed unbelief in your life so you don't activate the promises of God. Today I want to share a simple truth that has helped me a lot. John 1:18 says that "no one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

Jesus has come to explain the Father. God Himself strapped on humanity and came to earth and explained who He was. This word "explained" literally in the greek means "to unfold" or to consider out loud. It's as if Jesus came to sit down with you and step by step explain and unfold the nature of God to the human race.

Whenever I come to a moment of uncertainty about anything in scripture my first response is to go to the words of Jesus. I've chosen to trust all the Bible, but when confusion arises I view the words of Jesus as the supreme court to clarify the heart of God on any situation. Look to the supreme court today and God's will and nature will be "unfolded" in clarity before you.

THE CRAZIEST JOURNEY

2009-08-26T07:55:00.003-04:00

Our team just got back from a week of vacation, and it was awesome. My family went camping by a river in CT and had one of the most refreshing weeks I've ever had. God is stirring inside me afresh, with new passion and a clearer focus.

Today I was reading in the Message Bible from John Chapter 1. Check out how the message translates verse 12: "Whoever did want Him (Jesus), who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, he made to be their true selves, their child of God selves. These are the God-begotten..."

Do you believe that Jesus was who he claimed? Do you believe he will do what he said? If you do, then God will bring you on a journey that will lead you to discovering your true self.

Haven't you heard a million times, "Don't try to be like someone else--just be you." Growing up I would hear that and then realize that I had no idea who "me" was. How could I be me if I don't know me?

The answer is Jesus. Just begin to actively believe that he was who he claimed to be, he will do what he said--and then want HIM! Do this, and God will launch you into a crazy journey of discovering who you really are. It's a crazy paradox. Search for Him with all your heart, and you will find you in the process.

DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

2009-08-10T21:00:00.003-04:00

"If I am not seeing the same results the apostles saw, I'm either misunderstanding something God has spoken, or not doing something God intends me to do."

We just got back from West Virginia, where HFM and a team of over 100 young people served one of the poorest counties in the United States. It was powerful, and it was tough. Most of our guys came home with plenty of bruises, scars, and poison ivy. One of the nights, my father-in-law made this statement about seeing what the apostles saw, and I've been thinking about it since then.

Is it true? If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and always, then I've got to confront this. Did God purchase our victory and authority on the cross and then give it away after the first century? Was it only for the apostles to do greater things than Jesus, or was it really His intention for all believers to operate at this level?

Some streams and denominations would argue that God no longer makes the first-century-type of power available. I respectfully and emphatically disagree. But to take this position puts most of us in a difficult situation. If God expects His followers to operate in powerful, culture-changing anointing, why is our experience so different?

Well, I have to either accept that God is a liar (which I don't) or I confront the reality that I am misunderstanding or disobeying some of the key components to supernatural living. This means that big things need to change---it means that we could be doing some significant things all wrong. It means that we are going to need to embrace some very uncomfortable and possibly radical adjustments to the way we do Christianity.

I want God's fullness. His Spirit is our guide, and His word is our light. Look at things today with new eyes. Ask a few difficult questions--I will be.

HURTING GOD

2009-07-26T18:06:00.002-04:00

We're back home for a few days from a month on the road. It's good to be home. Today I spent some time in Ephesians 4 where Paul tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit--the one who has sealed us for the day of redemption.

This is a pretty wild idea. I think it's one that needs to get on the inside and mess us up. The word for "grieve" in the greek means to distress, to be sad or to be in heaviness. The word finds its origin in the greek word for sadness. The idea of hurting God seems a little crazy to our minds. How can we possibly hurt such a powerful, life-giving being?

In Genesis 6:6 the scripture says that God was grieved by man and it makes the whole idea even crazier. The Hebrew word used for "grieve" literally means to carve. It depicts pain and anger as if someone carved out your heart. Is it possible that God has given us access to His heart and in the process has given us access to hurt Him?

When Jesus entered Jerusalem he wept over the city. Can you imagine for a moment seeing with your eyes every sin that is being committed at every second across the earth? Think about witnessing every rape, every murder, and every abuse with your own eyes---Every child that is abused or left for dead. Now imagine not just seeing peoples actions, but also having the ability to see the inside of their hearts--every wicked thought. God sees it all.

This God of love has opened up His heart to the human race. With real love comes real risk and as His followers we can grieve God by our sin, our unbelief, and our distracted life-style. Stop what you are doing and listen for His voice. Let's learn what grieves Him, and become sensitive to His correction.

THE FOOL PROOF WAY TO FIND GOD

2009-07-17T17:12:00.003-04:00

Today we are in Rosarito, Mexico with the guys from Yugo missions. It's been a little while since the last blog--we just recently figured out the internet connection here. God has been doing some great things, and has been stretching us beyond our geographical limits as a ministry. It's been great.

I've been at a place of real spiritual hunger recently. I find myself desperately hungry for more of God, and more of His power. I've found that when this happens, it's usually because God is preparing my heart for a bigger breakthrough.

I've been thinking a lot about the verse in Jeremiah where God tells His people, "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart."

In this verse God has clearly outlined the path to finding Him. He's told us how we can reach Him--every time without fail. This is the only fail-proof method outlined in scripture. If you will simply come with all your heart, and keep coming with all your heart, God will soon break into your situation.

Have you gotten into a spiritual routine? Has life, work, or ministry, lost it's edge? Does your spiritual journey pulse with life? If not, stop what you're doing, radically adjust your schedule, cancel your meeting and seek God with all your heart.

Don't stop seeking Him until your heart surges with passion for His purposed. Don't stop seeking Him until you sense the burden of His call on your life. Then go out.

CONVERSATIONS WITH LOVE

2009-07-07T16:15:00.004-04:00

I'm writing this today from the highway. we are on our way to Columbus, Ohio and we just got Internet in the RV. It's pretty cool.

I've been meditating on Romans 5:5. Paul writes, "hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." That word "poured out" has also been translated "shed abroad." it literally means to dump out to the point of overflowing. the word speaks of something that is entirely overwhelming.

As I'm sitting in the RV thinking about that verse, the radio turns to David Crowder signing the song, "He loves us, oh how He loves us.." I think God was trying to get my attention.

When was the last time you felt overwhelmed by the love of God? When was the last time it tackled you and knocked you to the floor? I think this is a big gap in the way we interact with God.

This fact of his love isn't a license to live sinful, instead it's motivation to passionately pursue Him. He loves us. He's irrevocably committed to us. If you are His child, he'll never take his eyes off you, and if you're his child the reality of his love will only motivate you to love him.

I've been trying to get my brain around the love of God. One thing I've discovered is that His love is foreign. It's not the best kind of human love times ten. It's a totally different kind of love, and there's nothing human about it. It's like speaking Chinese to an English-speaking guy. You're not going to fully understand his love, but that shouldn't stop us from allowing him to dump it on us. Like learning a new language, you figure it out word by word and phrase by phrase. Pretty soon you start having conversations.

The verb used in Romans 5 is the perfect tense. This means that his love is overwhelming, and continues to fill up, like a piece of land that's been flooded and from that point on continues under water. So, let it overwhelm you today.

THATS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE

2009-07-06T00:09:00.003-04:00

Just got back into town from a weekend of ministry right outside of boston. It was a great time. If you attended Spread the Fire Friday night with us, we were really honored to have you there. The room packed out and there was a real obvious and intense hunger for God. He came--and i think the fires He sparked that night are going to spread.

Also, keep our team in prayer. Our summer internship is in full swing, and the band leaves for a month on the road tuesday. We are expecting the most fruitful summer of our lives--for your glory Jesus!

I've been thinking a lot about Joshua and the story of Jericho, and I am sure that God is trying to tell me something. Can you imagine being there with Joshua when he presents the plan to the people of Israel. He wants to walk around the well-guarded city for a really long time, then yell. He thinks the walls are going to fall down.

Here's what's been stirring in my heart: It had never been done before. Whens the last time you did something for God that had never been done before? Think about your life--the way you pray, the way you read the bible, the way you share your faith. Think about the way you run a church service or preach a sermon, or pray for a sick person. We do these things based on the way other people do them. We imitate what we've seen.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not against learning from others, or training--but I think that often we shut down our own capacity to hear the genuinely new command. We live on auto-pilot and we never even think of doing something that we've never seen done.

When was the last time you thought of something you could do for God that you hadn't ever seen done before? If I'm honest, nothing comes to my mind quickly. It's time to open that door again.

I can only imagine what Joshua felt and how scared he must have been. Think about how quickly he could have lost the respect of the people he was trying to lead. He had so much to risk. Moses had never shouted at a city to destroy their walls. No one had ever done that.

It was God's plan--and it worked. When you've finished reading this, I challenge you to take a few minutes and ask God to break your box of the types of things you can do for Him today. Start to consider the thing that's never been done.

THE BEGINNING OF SUBSTANCE

2009-06-29T14:31:00.002-04:00

My last entry was about developing the substance of real Christianity--but if that's where the conversation ends, then I think that talking about substance without defining the substance is a cop-out. What does it look like--what does real Jesus-lifestyle Christianity look like?

Funny you should ask, because I've been asking myself the same question.

I recently read an article about the ballistic missile crew at a North Dakota Air Force base. Three guards, all members of the Air Force were stationed to oversee 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Now, these missiles are pretty intense. They're called intercontinental because they can reach other continents--they are some of the farthest shooting missiles we have. On top of that, they are some of the deadliest missiles we have. Launching these missiles would cause nuclear disaster like we have never seen before, and would most likely cause other nations to fire their nuclear warheads, ending in the termination of life on earth as we know it. It's a pretty big responsibility to oversee these things.

Anyway, the three crew members guarding these missiles all fell asleep on the job last july. Yep, all three at the same time--passed out. Luckily, no one accidentally knocked a big green button with their elbows or anything.

The story made me think of the current state of most of us Jesus-followers. Here we are on planet earth, given a short amount of time to live and the most important assignment that we could be given. We are told to go out and make disciples--rescue people from an eternity in hell, and lead them to eternal life. It doesn't get any bigger than that.

Somehow, through all of our "Christian culture" stuff, we've fallen asleep to the whole thing. We take the job lightly, and often forget that we are even at work at all. Eternity has been lost in our minds. The reality of the situation has been lost.

And there's the key. Real Christian substance begins with a clear view of reality. Reality is truth from an untainted perspective. The only untainted perspective I've ever known is God's, so reality is what is true from God's perspective.

If I want to live Christian substance, the real thing, then I have got to throw away my "American Church-goer" perspective. I've got to re-work everything based on the reality of eternity, and it better completely devestate my current schedule.

It's a start. Then we build from there.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE CHURCH

2009-06-26T20:45:00.002-04:00

What's the problem with the church? That's a pretty common question these days. I know a thousand people with a thousand different answers. I know plenty of people who have just given up on the whole thing. They love Jesus, they serve Jesus, but church has lost its zing---if you know what I mean. They just don't want to go because they aren't confident that Jesus is going to go. Where do you stand?

I love the church--and i think that focusing our energy on criticizing the system is an adventure in missing the point. We think of church and we think of a structure with a pastor and a worship team and a sunday morning routine and a colorful bulletin. God thinks of church and He thinks of you. He thinks of me. He thinks of the condition of the people. If the church is failing the first thing to do is to ask yourself, "Is my lifestyle--my way of living--changing the world around me?" If it's not, then you just pin pointed the epidemic.

I don't think that our primary problem is structure. The American church has done it all--small group, large group, Sunday, Saturday night, etc. Although we do have some structural problems, I don't think that's where the disease is primarily.

Our real disease is substance. Somewhere in the busyness of life and "church" we've lost the real substance of Christianity. The reality of the whole thing. We've lost the way real Christianity changes every waking moment of a persons life, and the way it overtakes a persons affections. It's substance we've lost, and it's substance that we must rediscover.

That's the problem--we've got to be the change we want to see in the world.

NEW YORK CITY AND NAKED PEOPLE

2009-06-25T15:23:00.003-04:00

I spent the last two days in NYC. During my time down there yesterday my wife and I were walking through times square and passed a group of naked young people. yep, you read that right. And they weren't just naked (although most of them were mostly trying to cover their privates...) but they were also spattered with blood.

We asked a cop nearby what was going on and he just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't know. I guess that's just a day in the life of a NYC cop. Either way, I wanted to find out, but I wasn't going over there--so I sent my wife.

Two minutes later she came back laughing and told me what their protest signs said. "The naked truth: bullfighting is cruel."

bullfighting? I mean I suppose I agree with them, it's kind of a cruel sport, but the whole scene was screaming something else. These young people were standing naked in Times Square because they wanted a cause worth fighting for. They wanted something to stand up for, and all they could come up with was bullfighting.

now, i could be wrong, but I don't think that they were interacting with their target audience. I'm not a bullfighter, and I don't think that too many others walking by were bullfighters.

Jesus told us to look at the fields. The human heart is longing to be a part of a bigger story. This is where we must be intentional to lead people into the grand story of God. What will you do today to introduce people to become a part of God's redemption story for the human race?

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT YOU

2009-06-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a great trip to upstate New York. It was an awesome time. I’ve been thinking a lot about something that A.W. Tozer wrote in one of his books. He said that what comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. Think about that. The most important thing.

I’ve been in this place recently where I want to see God for who He is more than ever. The more I pursue an understanding of His nature and character the more I realize how many misconceptions I’ve had about Him. I think Tozer was right. Your view of God determines how you interact with Him.

A while ago I was on a place flying from Louisiana to Connecticut. As I boarded the plane I realized that I wasn’t sitting next to anyone I knew. I sat down next to an average looking middle-aged man. We talked small talk for a while, and then I asked him what he did for a living. I can’t remember his job title, but he held a fairly prominent government position and at that time was overseeing much of the new homeland security initiatives. I knew that this guy wasn’t just puffing himself up. He held some pretty intense responsibilities.

After I learned of his position, the nature of the conversation changed. I can’t tell you exactly how it changed, but I talked to him differently. Why? Well, I guess because I had a greater honor for the position he held and the responsibility he carried. I saw him differently.
Every time we clarify our view of God, we change the way that we interact with Him. If we could just get a glimpse of how big He is, our problems would seem a lot smaller. If we could see how faithful He is, we’d most likely stop trying to control everything ourselves. What comes into your mind when you think about God? Probably worth putting some thought into.

REAL WORSHIP

2009-06-15T13:57:00.000-04:00

I honestly don’t do this very often. I’m not sure why, but I don’t. Today I just put on some old-fashioned praise songs and sang to God. It was one of the most refreshing times with Jesus I’ve had in a long time.

What is worship? We’ve heard a thousand times that worship isn’t about singing a song—it’s about living a lifestyle. As true as that is, God has designed both music and the human voice to be directly tied to this act of worship.

It seems like when we first get saved and attend a “worship service” everything is fresh and real. We cry, we sing our guts out, and we tell God how awesome He is. Then time goes by, we “mature” in God, and we start acting like passionate worship is for the young in faith. I can’t tell you how often I’ve walked into a worship service and the leadership is completely disengaged from actually worshipping. Sometimes older Christians act like intense times of worship is beneath them. I’ve disengaged. I’ve acted like I had better things to do than worship.

How foolish. Worship prepares the human heart to hear the voice of God. It’s the worshiper’s heart that remains sensitive to the voice of God. Singing actually shifts the spiritual atmosphere. God spoke the world into existence and He’s given us the privilege to speak His will onto the earth. Singing about His greatness is one of the ways we bring His greatness into our situations in life.
Real kingdom people are worshippers. That’s who I want to be. Next time you’re in a meeting and people are singing, sing your guts out. Sing in your car. Sing in your quiet time. Faith grows through hearing the word, so sing a faith song.

THE RULING HABIT OF THE SOUL

2009-06-13T09:43:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning with a new fire from God. Something new stirring on the inside of me. I’ve been reading a biography on the great revivalist John Wesley and there’s something about this man’s life that we’ve lost today.

Wesley lived life and pursued God with such an intensity that it would most likely make the most passionate among us look lukewarm. I love the way he defined religion. He said:

“I take religion to be, not the bare saying over so many prayers morning and evening, in public or in private; not anything superadded now and then to a careless or worldly life; but a constant ruling habit of soul…a recovery of the divine likeness…”

I love this. A constant ruling habit of the soul. This is the essence of a Christ-followers life. I’ve gotten into the habit of the rulership of God in my life—moment by moment.
That’s what I want.

HERE WE GO

2009-06-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

So I decided to start a blog. We'll see how it goes. I've never been much of a blogger or an internet guru of any kind. Those who know me well and have taken the time to read this are probably thinking, "Justin is blogging...this wont last." They might be right--but I thought I'd go for it anyway.

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to follow Jesus. I mean what it really means. I don't mean Christian meetings, popular worship songs, five translations of the Bible, a strongs concordance, veggie tales, the dove awards or a sunday morning production--executed just right.

I've been thinking about the core of my faith. What did I do today that was eternal? Was there a conversation that drew someone else closer to Jesus, or a prayer that moved things in the heavens? Did I give my money or my time for my brother--did I stop talking and choose to really listen instead of making every conversation about me? What did I do today to please my Father.

Have you ever gotten in your car and headed out to the store and you find yourself driving to your office or your house instead? Sometimes our brains just click into auto-pilot when we drive. I feel like a lot of us live our lives that way. We just drift through the day, and watch life happen like a long movie. The trick is that God's whole system doesn't work this way. The kingdom of God advances only when it is intentionally advanced. So what did I do today that was intentional for the kingdom? Can I list two or four or seven things? What could I have done if I'd been paying attention?

I'm just not willing to live asleep. I feel like there's an entire generation of Christians who are barely holding on, trying to find something real in the styrophome version of Christianity that suffocates us. If you're interested, maybe we can figure out how to wake up together.