The Power of Clarity....NOT!

What would happen if you had to rely on Miss Teen South Carolina to call 911?

http://www.maniacworld.com/Miss-Teen-South-Carolina-Calls-911.html

God's Beauty

I've been getting a lot out of this book by Calvin Miller. He really has a beautiful writing style. Here are the most recent things I've been chewing on....

• God lives freest in those whose eyes are snagged by His artistry. Creativity is one way we respond...
• But some evangelicals have become junk dealers, substituting art for trinkets of our "sloganeered faith."
• There are many ways to glorify God, yet "Jesus junk" bears no glory and indeed is but the tinseled foolishness of evangelicals who have never seen the Lord high and lifted up. YOWZA!!!
• Some sermons and sanctuaries have been void of both art and interest. Our chatty religious spewings have become an idolatry of froth.
• Art is praise - high praise - and comes in all degrees of excellence. When Jesus touched Handel, he wrote "The Messiah." Handel yearned not only to praise Christ but to do so from the highest pinnacle of human genius.
• Making Christ in our image avoids the painful work of being conformed to His.
• Golden calves are the glitzy work of those Aarons who have not traversed the upper slopes of Sinai. Those who have, meet that God who is the only food that can appease their hunger.
• Too many churches are community centers and too little are conservatories.
• Too often we are the bland who no longer cry out to make God beautiful.

I know some of these quotes are tough, but I think we need to shake ourselves occasionally and ask (as David Powlison put it...) "Has something or someone besides Jesus Christ taken title to my heart's functional trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear and delight?"

Romans 12:2, (The Message), "Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Philippians 2:13, (New Living Translation) "For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him."

Spiritual Disciplines

Unfortunately, I think when many of us think of the word, "discipline" we often get an image something like this one (I'm obviously dating myself...I doubt anyone sits in a corner anymore).

This weekend, in the Contemporary Service (Sunday, 8:30am) I will be speaking on The Spiritual Disciplines....or at least 4 of them:

Meditation

Prayer

Fasting

Study

I think our culture is missing out on so much richness, because we live in a society that doesn't value discipline, unless it's to gain wealth, or get you in great physical shape.

Too often our barren lives are a result of not cherishing those four elements of discipline. They bring such richness to our lives, not to mention incredible joy. Too often, I think we believe they will do the opposite...and turn us into holier-than-thou Pharisees. But if we remember, it wasn't the 'sinners' that Jesus so often rebuked...it was the Pharisees.

So, I think each day before our feet hit the ground, we all have a decision to make...Are we going to conform to what society tells us? Can we really trust our culture to show us how to live?

OR...

Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

(Romans 12:2,The Message)

Snorkeling or Scuba-Diving?

This Sunday in our Contemporary Service (8:30am) we're going to be talking about going out into the deep with God.

There's a tendency sometimes to snorkel, when God is calling us to scuba-dive. Snorkeling, is nice, not to mention safe. But there's so much more in the deep to be explored...

When we get out into the deep, there is peace, there is quiet, and there are unfathomable wonders. The deep is the dwelling place of God.

Too often, I think we fear the deep, because it is hidden, mysterious, full of the unknown. It can feel dangerous.

But there's really great news. God doesn't send us to venture out into the deep alone...He's already there waiting for us. His arms are loving and open waiting to catch us and take us to the awesome places He has for us...

1 Corinthians 2:7, 9, 10 - We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God has destined for our glory before time began...it is written
"No eye has seen,
No ear has heard,
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared for those who love Him."
But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.

What God has prepared for us doesn't hold a candle to the shallow life!

Why Did God Choose Us To Help Spread His Gospel?

I must admit something. I have a pet-peeve. It's careless spelling mistakes that I've seen more than a few times in anything to do with church. I fear that they add to the stereotype that Christians are ignorant, and also fear that they don't do much for advancing the Kingdom. I found this picture online and shivers went up my spine....

All of that to say, that God did choose us to spread His Gospel. For reasons He knows, He chose imperfect, human, misspell-ers. The important thing is, that we in fact, do spread His Gospel everywhere we go. I pray that's our passion. Speaking of which, I have a book recommendation, "Just Walk Across the Room" by Bill Hybells. I wish I could give a copy to every Christian I meet. It has a way of exciting you about reaching out to the lost. Here's a great quote:
"In His life and in His death, Jesus deftly and ruthlessly protected his people-priority. His every word and every action proclaimed, 'There is nothing better than pouring your life into the goal of welcoming home a wandering soul'. Just imagine what life would be like if you lived with this same exuberance for reclaiming God's people for Him!"

Luke 15:10, "...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

May we all shift our motivation in this life to things that are eternal, and give every aspect of our lives to doing our part for the Kingdom! He wants to use all of us...even if we can't s-p-e-l-l!