SHIRT SIGNER

It has been a great weekend around here. Friday night, Find the 01 and I headed to Kingsport to lead worship and speak at the Refiners Fire Event held at Rock Springs UMC. It was a great night and there hospitality was wonderful. The band was asked to sign some shirts of some attendees. I know one thing for sure, we need to work on the signatures. It made me think of the fact that we have a name written on us too. We bear the name of Christ, and belong to Him. He wrote His name on us when we first believed, and we are his property. We talked about the Second Coming of Christ this weekend at Fusion. Peter urged us to live our lives in a Holy way so that we may speed up Christ's return. To do that we need to know what sin is, but more importantly we need to know and seek the heart of God. To make it a list of dos and don'ts, simply returns us to bondage and we lose the freedom we found in Christ. But we also can not let the world determine right and wrong. God sets the standard of Holiness, not man. since his autograph is on our soul, let us learn through the Spirit what saddens our Father (sin) and live in a way that points others to get their soul signed.

Thank Therapy

I have had a small case of the blahs this morning. I spent time in God's Word, Luke 21 precisely. Spent time in prayer. My commute was filled with spontaneous singing of praise and prayer, no radio or CD, just my voice and God's ear. Once in the office I prayed through our staff list. And while my mood lightened, I feel compelled to do some thank therapy right here.

I'm thankful for: God who loves me and desires relationship w/ me, Traci, my wife whom I cherish and adore, my church, its staff and mission, my family, birth and in-law who love me despite my strengths and weaknesses, the work I have for the kingdom, the friends and volunteers who share it with me, for the students God brings in our path, for the fact that God designed me to be a huge dreamer, for coffee, random soft drinks that the masses don't know about, sugar cake, well lets just say food, for my home and pets, for Scrabble, for my mistakes and the grace that God has used to mold me, for four seasons, for.....

Okay, I feel better now! Every time I take a look at the many blessings God has given me my spirit soars. I guess that is why the apostle Paul said to give thanks in all things. What are you thankful for today? Ultimately it is not the blessings that should cause us to thank God, but the truth that while we were yet sinners, He sent His son, Jesus to go to the cross for us that we would gain relationship with the Father and live forever with Him. That is the blessing that we have, Jesus. All else pales in comparison to that. In Jesus alone is the world is blessed. I'm a sinner and I am blessed.

MILENNIAL MADNESS

Maybe you saw it, maybe you didn't, but CBS' 60 minutes had a feature about the millennial generation recently. The angle was how this generation is impacting the work place and the management shift they require. It noted how the parents of this generation will call employers to voice their dissatisfaction with their child's employment evaluation. Some "helicopter parents" have even hounded college professors because their child didn't get an A on a paper. The blame for it all is placed on the fact that in this day and age every kid is special, gets a trophy, and is stroked from birth to build their self-esteem. While most of us over 30 are tempted to think that nothing like this ever happened prior to the millennials, maybe we should examine Matthew 20:20-23. Mrs. Zebedee, proud mother of James and John, asks Jesus to let her little boys sit on his left and right in His Kingdom. While we may laugh at the audacity of a new generation, the truth is that there is a sin nature that is as old as the world in all of us that wants to be treated with privelege. The challenge for all of us, no matter our generation, to get of our self important high horse and die to our selfish bent. The person who loses his life will find it!

A RICH LIFE

You may have heard about the plane crash in Riverside CA last week. A small plane crashed into a neighborhood street not far from the airport. among the three lives lost, was my cousin's son whom I never really knew. Zach Ronald was 23, a recent college grad with the desire to be a fighter pilot or a military medical doctor. The loss is tragic! But I have found comfort in many things as I have searched the web for info. His friends set up a website for people to post pictures. As I looked through the 400+, it was obvious that he had a rich life. Pictures of friends, family, adventure and general goofiness all found him with a smile. (the book Acts reminds us the early church grew because people gathered to eat with glad and sincere hearts.) His mom, Nancy, was quoted in a CA paper saying "he loved the Lord, we all do and that's what's helping us all through this." What a witness to the peace and purpose that comes from being in relationship with Jesus! I can't answer the "why" questions of events like this, but I can say that I'm sure there is a bigger picture that we are not painting, and God will use this to draw some to Him and his love for them. Jame's epistle reminds us our lives are like a mist in the spectrum of eternity. I believe Zach's mist will leave a wake. May we all live in such a rich way that shows our love for God.