Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

Is He Alive? Prove it.

// March 31st, 2010 // 9 Comments » // Christian Living

This weekend on Sunday, Christians will gather all over the world to celebrate the greatest event in human history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This simply means that we do not worship a dead God. He’s alive. We have a living hope.

Among other things, this means that God is actively involved in our lives. When we pray, he hears us. When we sing, he hears us. He’s doing things right now, in your life and in mine.

So, I’m looking for proof. I’m looking for stories from your life that demonstrate that Jesus did not reamain dead in that cold, damp tomb 2,000 years ago. I want to hear testimonies of what God has done and is doing in your life right now.

Is He alive? Prove it in the comments below.

The Chase

// October 23rd, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Christian Living

My wife Heather is guest posting here today with something God has been showing her.  Thanks, Heather!

runningYesterday I took my two little ones to the park. They have gotten into this thing where they will stand on the highest place in the park and then say “Get Me.” They will quickly get down and start running. As they run their little hearts out with me after them, they are giggling and watching everything I am doing. However, as soon as I begin to get a little too close this panic comes to their eyes and they quickly declare the closest thing as base. I have to admit that this game is fun until I see the panic in their eyes. I know that when I catch them what will come from it will be even more fun and tickles and laughter, but to them it is all about the chase and not getting caught. Yesterday, as Eliana and I were doing this I felt like God clearly spoke to me and said “Aren’t you all this way?” That got me thinking.

As I pondered this it really hit me. God is always in pursuit of us. He is in pursuit of our hearts, our desires, our weaknesses and our strengths. He takes joy in the chase and in knowing that when he catches us He will bring us joy, healing, restoration and fulfillment. So, then why do we so quickly panic and run to the whatever safety zone we have set when he gets close?

We would all love to say that we are seeking after God and the good things He has to give us. We want to believe that when he draws us close we always submit, but the fact of the matter is that we have a first reaction to take control ourselves and to try to create a place of safety within our own boundaries. For some this is food, others spending money, for others it may be medication and the list goes on and on. If we would actually trust our Father and truly believe and understand that what he has for us in the end is so much better than the safety we create then we could be so much better off.

Isn’t it amazing that the God of the universe would choose to pursue us! That He would choose to love us enough to fix our brokenness? I for one stand amazed. My prayer is that I would learn to give him true control of the chase. That I would give over my boundaries and let him have full control. I know for certain that I would be better off!

This video is a little bit long, but it’s my prayer for my life! (Sorry for the really cheesy pics…)

Lose Your Plastic Jesus

// October 5th, 2009 // No Comments » // Christian Living, Video

I found this video compelling (and clever).  It also brings up a subject that I think about a lot: the oversimplification of the gospel.  I wonder if the Church, in an effort to reach more people, have presented a “plastic Jesus” to potential converts.  A Jesus that is a caricature of the real thing.  Jesus get misrepresented as either unconcerned about sin, hell and rebellion or as loveless, angry and breathing fire out of his nostrils at all sinners of the world.

By the way I hear some preachers talk, you’d think Jesus is disinterested completely in the fate of the world that He came to save as though He’s a petulant child.    Still others make Him seem powerless and worried.  All of them 2-dimensional.

How many times have we reduced Him to a sound-bite at the end of a meeting or only displayed a 2-dimensional version of Him to our friends?  Perhaps that’s, at least in part, the reason why so many people simply fizzle out into mediocrity.  And maybe that’s why we so often find it impossible to trust Him.

Toss your plastic Jesus in the trash can and seek out the real one.  See Him healing the sick, touching the leaper, calling the Pharisees dogs, displaying His glory at the Mount of Transfiguration, dying in humility and victory at the cross.  Imagine Him returning for His spotless Bride at the end of days.  See Him as the hero of this great story of the gospel.

Enter the Story: The Gospel

// April 12th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Christian Living

Following a powerful 1.5 hours of inspiration, I wrote the following article.  I delivered this, word for word, this morning for our Easter service.  I’ve never delivered a message in this way before.  It’s always much more free-flowing and less “theatrical”.  I almost never write down the exact words that I will say, only a skeleton of notes and triggers for my memory to keep me on track.  However, when I sat down to construct my sermon this week, I got really inspired to write it word for word.

This is probably the longest post ever done on this blog, but I hope you will take a few moments to read it anyway.  It just sort of poured out of me all at once.

Today I’m going to tell you a story.  It is the greatest story ever told.  Maybe you have heard it before, maybe you haven’t.  Maybe you think you know this story, but you have only heard a poor retelling of it where the wonder and mystery of its storyline has been replaced with pragmatism, stiff religion, hypocrisy.  Or perhaps you have heard this story many, many times and you’ve allowed familiarity to breed contempt.

The story I am going to tell you this morning has been unfolding since before the dawn of time.  It is not only the centerpiece of mankind’s history, it is the driving force behind every event, every triumph, every defeat, every tragedy.  It is the impetus behind the rise and fall of every world leader and every nation on the planet.  It is the common thread that runs through every seemingly coincidental and serendipitous event in history.

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