Continue reading »]]> Here’s another example. Imagine if your day looked like this:

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8 NLT)

What do you spend your time thinking about? Things that make your mind look up to God, or things that keep you firmly entrenched in the Lower Story? Do you dwell on the negative or choose to keep your mind on all the good that is around you? Do you only see ugly, or do you intentionally focus on the beautiful things and people all around you?

Spend your day today thinking about things that are worthy of praise!

Continue reading »]]> The Christian life is not easy, but it can be simple.  It is sure to be hard, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

Here is another ‘easy’ example of how to live the life:

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6 (NASB)

OK, just imagine it.  Humility.  Gentleness.  Patience.  Unity.  Peace.

What if we really lived like that?  Would it be easy?  No, but it sure would be simple!

Continue reading »]]> The Christian life is not easy, but it can be simple.  It is sure to be hard, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

So many people spend so much time trying to figure out what to do with their Christian lives.  However, we could turn to 1000 places in Scripture and find simple, straightforward descriptions of what our lives should look like.  It may be difficult to live out what we read in Scripture, and we cannot do it without God’s help.  But let’s not kid ourselves…it isn’t complicated!

So, I thought I’d take a few posts to point out some of these simple descriptions.  Imagine if your life looked like this:

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.

Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13 (NLT)

Which of these simple instructions comes easiest to you?  Praise Him for that!  Loving people is not difficult for me…it is both simple and easy!  Thank you for that!

Which is most difficult?  Ask Him to transform your heart to make it easier!  Being patient in trouble is difficult for me…it is simple for me to say, but hard for me to do.  God, help me to be prayerfully patient!

Continue reading »]]> I have been reading through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  At the end of chapter 11, there are some powerful reminders of how much different God is from us and how incomprehensible He is as a result.  His ways are truly not our ways. 

Oh, how quickly I forget.

In the last verse, Paul reminds us where everything comes from, who holds everything together, and even what the real point of everything is:  God.  This was a great reminder to me.

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. Romans 11:36 (NLT)

• Everything comes from Him.  I didn’t create anything on my own.  My family, my friends, my stuff, my health, etc, etc…all of it came from Him!
• Everything exists by His power.  Not only did I not create anything on my own, I certainly don’t have the power to hold anything together.  I can’t hold together my family on my own.  I can’t take care of my friends on my own.  If I try to keep it together by my power…it will all melt away!
• Everything is intended for His glory.  Not my glory.  Not my fame.  Not my comfort.  Everything I am and have exists so that He can get the glory!

So how about you?  Are you taking credit for things that God has given you?  Are you trying to hold everything together and make it work with your own power?  Does your life seem to revolve around you…or around God?  What do you need to repent from?  What do you need to thank Him for?  How can you bring Him glory today?

My advice?  Cry out to him to help you live out this verse today…and everyday!

Continue reading »]]> What is your natural reaction when see people that:

• are totally self-absorbed?
• make a mockery of what you appreciate?
• drive erratically?
• make stupid decisions?
• are mean, rude or offensive?
• seem totally clueless?
• are just plain irritating?

How do you respond to them?  What thoughts go through your head?  How do you talk about them to other people?

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

What was Jesus’ reaction?  Compassion.  The words “had compassion on” here might be translated “pitied” or “felt sympathy for”.  Jesus’ reaction was compassion that resulted in action.  He saw beneath the surface and understood the pain, confusion and helplessness they lived with.  He walked with them, talked with them, healed them and prayed with them.  And He asked His Father to send more workers to do the same.

Want to find out how much Jesus has transformed you?  Check your heart when it comes to the people around you.  Do you judge them or have compassion on them?  Do they irritate you or inspire you to do something to help?  Do you thank God that you aren’t like them or ask God to help you become more like Him?

What’s your supernatural reaction to people?

Continue reading »]]>

The Bible tells the greatest and most important story of all time. It is the story of the one true God and His children. It is the story of the God who speaks; the God who acts; the God who listens; the God who sacrificed; the God who forgives. It is the story of redemption and new life.

It is the story of God.

We want to know the Bible as understandable and fascinating. We want to experience the transformational message of the Bible as we learn and re-learn the story of God.

I think this could change everything.  The question is: will people engage with The Story?

Part of the answer to that question depends on how much people interact with The Story between weekend services.  Will they read along in The Story?  Will they interact with with The Story with personal and/or family devotions?  Will they encourage and challenge each other with The Story in their Life Groups?

Did I mention that I’m excited about this?  Please be praying for our church as we start this journey together.

Continue reading »]]> Got this email today from a good friend and thought it would be great to pass along.  Thanks Lisa!

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their families that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night’s dinner.

In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into the baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?"

She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn’t spoil your day too badly."

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister…" He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?"

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?"

Do people mistake you for Jesus?

That’s our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. 

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It’s actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.
Let us live like we are worth the price He paid.

Think about it.

Continue reading »]]> I finished a great little book last month that I would highly, highly recommend: The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley.  This book relays a very Biblical concept in a very understandable, practical way.

Direction—not intention—determines our destination. The direction you are currently traveling—relationally, financially, spiritually, and the list goes on and on—will determine where you end up in each of those respective arenas. This is true regardless of your goals, your dreams, your wishes, or your wants. The principle of the path trumps all those things. Your current direction will determine your destination. And like every principle, you can leverage this one to your advantage or ignore it to your disadvantage. Just as there are paths that have led us to places we never intended to be, there are paths that lead us away from those places as well.

This is not a new concept, and it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to figure it out.  But is one too often and too easily ignored. 

Here is it again, with a little different twist:

At the end of the day, direction, not intention, determines destination. You can’t pray your way out of that. You can’t talk your way out of that. And you can’t repent your way out of that. It is the way God designed the world to work.

You seriously should read this book, taking its simple message serious.  Andy provides some great questions to help you determine what path you are on, how you got on it and how to choose another one.

You can find a link to it from the “Staff Picks” section of our website at www.gracepoint.cc/books.

Read it.  Seriously.

Continue reading »]]> Some things in the Bible are so hard to read, and even harder to live.  Here is one of them from the gospel of Matthew:

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matthew 5:43-44 (NLT)

Let me give you a couple definitions here:

• Love: there are several kinds of “love” expressed in the Bible, expressing a wide variety of things.  The kind of love Matthew writes about here is agape love.  This is the sort of love God has for us, a love that is willing to give and even die for others.
• Your enemies: those that are hateful or hostile toward you.
• Those that persecute you: those that mistreat, oppress, torment or harm you.

So, let me carefully rewrite these two verses from Matthew.

You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies in the way that God loves you!  Love them enough to give your life for them!  Pray for those who mistreat you in even the smallest of ways!

So who comes to mind for you?  God gives us the command (and the power) to turn hate into love and mistreatment into prayer.  Are you willing to obey Him in this?  You’ll need His help to do it, but I would encourage you to pray right now for the names that come to mind.  Ask Him for a taste of His love for them.  Ask Him to point out ways you can express love to them.

Do it for your sake.  Do it for their sake.  Do it for God’s sake.

Continue reading »]]> Here is a GREAT way to get a little exercise, both physically and spiritually.  Take a prayer walk.  You could walk around your place of employment (when you are off the clock, obviously), your home, where you go to school, your neighborhood, your church, the mall, etc.

• Thank God for the people represented there.  Ask for His protection on them. 
• Thank God for the place itself: your job, your home, your church…whatever the case may be.
• Ask that His will be done in the place you are walking around. 
• Ask Him for eyes to see people that may be hurting or left out in that place.  Ask Him for wisdom on how you can minister to them.

Spend some time today following Paul’s brief instructions to the church at Thessalonica:

Never stop praying. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)