Inspired

This is my favorite t-shirt. For a number of reasons:

1. It’s part of the Gap’s Product (RED) collection, which means that a portion of the money I paid for it went to the Global Fund to invest in HIV and AIDS programs. We live in an age where we can know the impact of our purchases which can help us to make smart decisions when spending our money. Find out more here.

2. It’s pre washed so it’s extra soft and comfortable.

3. My own personal meaning behind it. I’ll elaborate…

One of the definitions of the word “inspired” is ‘to breathe into’. I love the image of that. It’s a great reminder that I am a child of God. He has breathed his breath of life into me. Jesus has redeemed and regenerated my entire being, even my breath, and given me new life in Him.

There is overlap between the Latin, Greek and Hebrew words for breath and spirit. So this is yet another reminder that as a redeemed child of God, His living Spirit is breathed into me. As ridiculous and impossible as that sounds; I know in faith that it’s true. And it never ceases to amaze me and draw me to worship Him.

You too are a child of God. Jesus has extended his wounded hand of saving grace to us. When we take it, the Spirit breathes new life into us, we are awakened to a new life, a new calling: a life and calling, in obedience to him, in his work of restoring the world to Himself. And this leaves me feeling inspired…

Resurrection

This is Rob Bell’s latest video on Resurrection.  Thoughts, comments, discussion?

He is not here, but has risen.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Luke 24:5-7 ESV

This changed the course of history and still is…

food for thought…

While I was in Atlanta, I had the privilege to hear Craig Groeschel speak. His message was extremely powerful and inspiring. There were a few major items that I took away from his message that I thought I would share and hopefully start some conversation.

1.) What if we believed that what happened in the Bible could still happen today? The healings, the miracles, the massive spreading of the Gospel, the transformation?

2.) When we hit a wall, it often times causes a revelation that we wouldn’t see otherwise.

3.) Limited resources + increasing passion = exponential innovation

4.) Sometimes, in order to be effective, you have to break some rules.

5.) How would you live your life differently if you knew you had 30 days to live?

6.) If we are going to reach the unreached, we are going to have to do things that have not been done before.

Thoughts?

Be sure to check out Craig’s church here.

too much caffeine…

Those of you who know me know that I cannot do caffeine. In fact I have completely cut it out of my diet for health reasons. I thank God that for whatever reason I can still enjoy chocolate since it does not tend to bother me as much as caffeine in soda. Anyway, I had an evening meeting tonight and picked up a green tea and dark chocolate for the ride home and I am way too wired now…so what else to do but blog?

I have been reading through (and listening to) the book of Joshua lately and today I heard something interesting for the first time.

Joshua 2:15 reads, “So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall.”

Now prior to this, we are told that Joshua secretly sends two spies to look over the land, “especially Jericho.” They went and entered the house of Rahab, a prostitute. She hides the spies because she knows, “that the LORD has given this land” to them and “the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.” In exchange she asks for protection for her and her family.

After the Israelites cross the Jordan and come to Jericho in the most bizarre story of conquering a city ever, God gives them the city upon following his command to march around the city seven times on the seventh day (of marching). How do they get into the city? “The wall collapsed.”

First, Rahab has amazing faith in God in the midst of a city filled with people who for all we know do not believe in the one true God. This faith gives her the boldness to hide spies who were scoping out her land to conquer, and to bargain with them for her and her family’s lives. She does as the spies tell her and ties a scarlet cord in the window so they can distinguish her from the others. Yet, we are told that she lives in the city wall and the wall collapsed. Can you imagine the fear that Rahab and her family must have experienced as they felt the wall collapsing around them waiting for the promise to be fulfilled?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the cost of following Jesus. We are told by Jesus himself that it is not easy. We are told to take up our cross and follow him. We are told that in this world we will have trouble. But we are also told that Jesus has overcome the world! As difficult as it must have been for Rahab and her family to trust in God’s promise in the midst of the chaos and disaster unfolding around them, after the siege of the city, her faith was rewarded with the fulfillment of God’s promise to save her and her family. And more than that, her faith was rewarded with being included in Jesus’ lineage.

Just like Rahab, although we experience trouble and difficulties that test our faith, God keeps his promises. And just as Rahab is saved and included in Jesus’ lineage, we are saved by Jesus and included in his lineage as “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

In a culture where we avoid suffering at all costs, may we come to understand this text more deeply through the presence of Jesus in our lives and truly understand what it means to share in Jesus’ sufferings. I know; it’s a very scary prayer…

the bridge…

Most of you probably heard the news yesterday of a bridge collapse in Minneapolis. I stumbled upon this blog site today by John Piper. I was moved to tears by his insight and faithful reflection.

Check it out at http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/745_putting_my_daughter_to_bed_two_hours_after_the_bridge_collapsed

faith…

I was listening to the book of Acts on my Bible cd in the car today on my way to a meeting and I have been wrestling with the following verse from Acts 14:9:

“He saw that he had faith to be healed.”

The verse speaks of Paul when he is in Lystra and comes upon a lame man. Scripture clearly points out that this man had never walked, that he was lame from birth.

I find it interesting not only what Paul says, but what he does. 1.) Paul “looked directly” at the man 2.) he “saw that he had faith to be healed” 3.) and he called out “stand up on your feet!”

This is fascinating to me because Paul and Barnabas were just sent out from Jerusalem after the apostles settled the matter of a sect of Jewish followers of Jesus who were forcing Gentiles to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul then almost gets stoned and then goes on to Lystra with Barnabas.

He then comes upon this man. The word “saw” stands out to me. In the context of the sentence, “he saw that he had faith to be healed,” this is a much different concept of seeing than the physical human sense. Paul “saw” something that is not clearly visible to the average person. My only explanation is that Paul, empowered by the Holy Spirit, senses the faith of this lame man. How does he see this? He sees with the eyes of the Spirit, the eyes of Jesus, the eyes of God.

First, why don’t we see this way? It requires being completely in tune with the Spirit. Second, how is Paul able to heal the man? Does Paul really heal the man? In fact, all Paul does is make a pretty bizarre statement. He is surrounded by people anxious to learn from his teaching about Jesus and he pulls a Jesus and heals someone. But, in the same way Jesus did, he empowered the man to participate in the act of his healing. He calls the man to stand up. Now, we have already been told that Paul saw that this man had faith to be healed, and we are then shown that by the man’s willingness to stand up after not ever knowing what it felt like to stand. Two notable times that Jesus performed a miracle this way is first the wedding feast at Cana. He commands the servants to fill up the jugs with water. They obey and the water becomes wine. Second, he heals a blind man by spitting in the mud and wiping it on his eyes and telling him to go and wash. I find it pretty amazing that Jesus invites us to participate in our own healing. Even Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross invites us to act. We have to choose whether we will accept his sacrifice or not.

And what is the crowd’s reaction after this amazing miracle? They try to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. Talk about missing the point. God must be so frustrated with these jokers. No wonder Paul and Barnabas tear their clothes and run into the crowd to confront them…

the breath of life…

So, I checked out the nooma DVD breathe last night. It was pretty amazing and insightful. Rob talked about how the Hebrew word for spirit and the Hebrew word for breathe are the same and how the name of God in Hebrew was thought by some rabbis to actually be the sound of breathing.

He talked specifically about the story of Moses and his encounter with God in the burning bush, which reminded me of the story of Jacob where he encounters God while sleeping and wrestles with Him. In both cases, there are references to the ground being holy where they had their encounter with God. Rob wonders and I wonder also if this ground became holy because of God’s encounter there with each of them or whether the ground was already holy. I mean, doesn’t God ultimately dwell among all of His creation?

This thinking about breathing and spirit also includes the story of creation when God forms Adam from the dust and “breathes into his nostrils the breath of life.” When we are born into this world, we must take that first breathe to live and we breathe it in, receiving it. Jesus told His followers before he died and rose again that He would send the Spirit to be with His followers. He then, after the resurrection, breathes on his followers and says, “receive the Holy Spirit.” The breath of life, the breath of new life…

I encourage you to wrestle with this, ponder this and while you are, read Ezekiel 37 and see how it relates…

And check out the nooma website at http://www.nooma.com/

and the journey continues…