i've come to the end of my first of two semesters here at willow creek mchenry county. it has been one of the most challenging experiences i've ever had to face. there is something about taking a risk that allows you to be in the place to accept the GREATEST reward. moving to the away from all of my family and friends was not easy. moving away from every ministry connection i have ever had was not easy. moving to the arctic tundra in which i currently live was not easy. but it was necessary. it took moving away from everything i ever knew to realize all that i had been missing.
one of the biggest things that i've learned from my time here has been the immediacy of the gospel. in my life. in your life. now. i think i've always just lived with a sense of tomorrow. God will do great things tomorrow. i'll push into who God really wants me to be tomorrow. i'll be love to a broken world tomorrow. this way of thinking is so prevalent in the church today. and in me. but it is so TOXIC. if there is no URGENCY in the gospel, then there is no gospel. TODAY is the day of salvation.
annie dillard said, "how we live our days is how we live our lives."
i have found that this statement could not be more true. i've seen it in my life. i think that this principle applies to the urgency with which we live our lives. so, looking forward to the holidays, take advantage of the opportunities you have everyday. with the people that you don't see that often. with the people you see all the time. with the people you're mad at in traffic or at the mall. let us be a people who live our lives with urgency and purpose. today. now.
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spirituality. Show all posts
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
allegiance
for the past few months, i've been thinking a lot about allegiance. allegiance to God. allegiance to people. allegiance to country. allegiance to party. allegiance to sports team. we all have allegiances. it's in our dna to identify with someone/something. the question i've been pondering is how sin contributes to and distorts this desire in our hearts.
we are all born with an innate desire to know and have relationship with our creator. throughout scripture, we see this play out. this is our identity: to be know God and be known by Him. we ARE His. however, our sin nature that we are born with (because of the fall) distorts this identity. we become fragmented. all of a sudden, our identity as CREATION and TREASURE of the most high God is not enough. it is too risky. not tangible enough. so, we try to find our identities in everything else (what we're good at. what we're not good at. who we know. etcetera.).
i think this is where allegiances come in.
we want to belong. we want to fit in. we believe in something, and find security in what that group means. i observed this over and over throughout the campaigns of the recent presidential election. each side told their people what they wanted to hear. security often dictates allegiance. i understand why the world operates in such a manner. however, i feel deeply convicted about the allegiances that christians are willing to forge. ARE WE MORE AMERICAN THAN CHRISTIAN?
the office of president of the united states is one of the most important and pivotal roles in the world today. however, placing all of our hope in what one imperfect man can do is one of the greatest tragedies i have seen in my lifetime.
psalm 130:7
"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
this is just my humble understanding.
we are all born with an innate desire to know and have relationship with our creator. throughout scripture, we see this play out. this is our identity: to be know God and be known by Him. we ARE His. however, our sin nature that we are born with (because of the fall) distorts this identity. we become fragmented. all of a sudden, our identity as CREATION and TREASURE of the most high God is not enough. it is too risky. not tangible enough. so, we try to find our identities in everything else (what we're good at. what we're not good at. who we know. etcetera.).
i think this is where allegiances come in.
we want to belong. we want to fit in. we believe in something, and find security in what that group means. i observed this over and over throughout the campaigns of the recent presidential election. each side told their people what they wanted to hear. security often dictates allegiance. i understand why the world operates in such a manner. however, i feel deeply convicted about the allegiances that christians are willing to forge. ARE WE MORE AMERICAN THAN CHRISTIAN?
the office of president of the united states is one of the most important and pivotal roles in the world today. however, placing all of our hope in what one imperfect man can do is one of the greatest tragedies i have seen in my lifetime.
psalm 130:7
"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
this is just my humble understanding.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
the importance of story
right now, in my life, God is teaching me a lot about the importance of story. the importance of other people's stories. the importance of my own story. the importance of God's story. people understand story. it's how we relate.
in high school, we would sit at the lunch table and just tell story after story after story. that's all we did. people learn who you are through the stories you tell and vice versa. however, i am now seeing a disconnect that i didn't understand then: it is a give and take relationship. we must be listening and connecting to other people's stories as well as telling our own. back then, (and even sometimes now) we would just wait for our turn to top the current story with a zinger of our own instead of listening and understanding.
we all know that jesus communicated with stories. how else would this world understand any of his messages? there would be no point of reference. he came with a message of a better way to live, and explained it in a way that people could relate to. he told stories.
acts 14:27 says, "When they had arriced and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." let me clarify: THEY TOLD STORIES. THEIR STORIES. OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES.
development/change/transformation happens in the context of relationship. tell your story. listen [really listen] to someone else's story. it will change you. let it.
in high school, we would sit at the lunch table and just tell story after story after story. that's all we did. people learn who you are through the stories you tell and vice versa. however, i am now seeing a disconnect that i didn't understand then: it is a give and take relationship. we must be listening and connecting to other people's stories as well as telling our own. back then, (and even sometimes now) we would just wait for our turn to top the current story with a zinger of our own instead of listening and understanding.
we all know that jesus communicated with stories. how else would this world understand any of his messages? there would be no point of reference. he came with a message of a better way to live, and explained it in a way that people could relate to. he told stories.
acts 14:27 says, "When they had arriced and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." let me clarify: THEY TOLD STORIES. THEIR STORIES. OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES.
development/change/transformation happens in the context of relationship. tell your story. listen [really listen] to someone else's story. it will change you. let it.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
crescendo
one of the coolest things that God has been teaching me over the past week or so has been through the verse Habakuk 1:5, which says, "look at the nations and watch, for I [God] am going to do something in your day that you would not believe even if you were told." that takes my breath away. gets me really excited. and scares me to death.
our axis leadership team has committed to focusing on this verse everyday, and it's really messing me up (in a really beautiful way). this verse has just thrown me into thinking about the message of Christ throughout history. there have been some pretty incredible advances. from a group of just a few disciples to literally millions. wow.
so, here's where this gets tough: i was leading worship a couple of weeks ago for our high schoolers and we were doing the song "God of this city." there's a part of this song that says, "greater things have yet to come. greater things are still to be done in this city." as i was leading, these words just almost brought me to tears, because i wasn't sure if i really believed it. and that scared me...
today, as i was driving to work and praying through habakuk 1:5, God linked these to concepts in my mind. i was trying to understand where i fit in all of this. i had so many questions. does this verse really apply to me as an individual? does God really have greater things planned for me? these are things that i believe in my head, but sometimes i lack the understanding in my heart. but God spoke so clearly to me in that moment.
i was listening to a song on my ipod and as it came to the end, the band ended with a huge crescendo, and right there in my car on randall road, God said, "live a crescendo. push into me more and more, and you really will see greater things. you will see things that you wouldn't believe even if I told you." i couldn't speak. it was one of the most significant moments i've ever had in my entire life...
let's live a crescendo. does this resonate with anyone else?
our axis leadership team has committed to focusing on this verse everyday, and it's really messing me up (in a really beautiful way). this verse has just thrown me into thinking about the message of Christ throughout history. there have been some pretty incredible advances. from a group of just a few disciples to literally millions. wow.
so, here's where this gets tough: i was leading worship a couple of weeks ago for our high schoolers and we were doing the song "God of this city." there's a part of this song that says, "greater things have yet to come. greater things are still to be done in this city." as i was leading, these words just almost brought me to tears, because i wasn't sure if i really believed it. and that scared me...
today, as i was driving to work and praying through habakuk 1:5, God linked these to concepts in my mind. i was trying to understand where i fit in all of this. i had so many questions. does this verse really apply to me as an individual? does God really have greater things planned for me? these are things that i believe in my head, but sometimes i lack the understanding in my heart. but God spoke so clearly to me in that moment.
i was listening to a song on my ipod and as it came to the end, the band ended with a huge crescendo, and right there in my car on randall road, God said, "live a crescendo. push into me more and more, and you really will see greater things. you will see things that you wouldn't believe even if I told you." i couldn't speak. it was one of the most significant moments i've ever had in my entire life...
let's live a crescendo. does this resonate with anyone else?
Monday, October 13, 2008
small victory
today, i went to borders bookstore. i love it there. however, i do have a tendency to fall into the trap of buying the newest book by one of my favorite christian authors almost every time i go. however, i've been learning so much lately about slowing down my performance driven understanding of what it means to be a christian and just allowing God to renovate me from the inside out. easier said than done to be sure.
so, today when i was at borders, i ran across rob bell's new book, Jesus wants to save christians. i couldn't have agreed more with the title. but i resisted the temptation to just buy another book to buy another book, and i put it down. i will read this book at some point, but that does not mean i have to rush through it right now.
this is pretty much the first time that i have resisted such an urge. it's a really small step. but it is a step. a step towards killing my performance based spirituality. a step towards life. maybe even a step towards Jesus saving this christian.
what is the one thing in your life that, although it isn't inherently bad, you wish Jesus would save you from? i understand if you don't want to comment. but it could be cool if you did...
so, today when i was at borders, i ran across rob bell's new book, Jesus wants to save christians. i couldn't have agreed more with the title. but i resisted the temptation to just buy another book to buy another book, and i put it down. i will read this book at some point, but that does not mean i have to rush through it right now.
this is pretty much the first time that i have resisted such an urge. it's a really small step. but it is a step. a step towards killing my performance based spirituality. a step towards life. maybe even a step towards Jesus saving this christian.
what is the one thing in your life that, although it isn't inherently bad, you wish Jesus would save you from? i understand if you don't want to comment. but it could be cool if you did...
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