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5 Signs It’s Not About Jesus

We live in a messed up world.

People have taken something that is so easy and revolutionary and turned it into something complicated and regular.

Here are 5 signs that what you have isn’t Jesus, but something else…

1. You believe that people around you are suddenly unworthy of your company because you’re a “Christian.” (Mark 1:40-45)

2. You’ve locked yourself up in a bubble of Christian people. You make no effort to build relationships outside of the faith. (Matthew 9:10)

3. You have an easy time following Jesus. (Mark 8:35)

4. You believe that you don’t have to give to a local church because it’s YOUR money. (1 Corithians 10:26)

5. You believe that it’s possible to “go overboard” for Jesus. (Matthew 22:36-40)

Any more to add?

02
Feb 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
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Blog, Church Ministry, Featured

DISCUSSION 28 Comments
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Never Make Them Mad

I used to try my best to make people happy…

Never make anyone mad.

Then,

I came to my senses and realized…
It’ll never happen.

At least, if I’m doing what I should be doing.

No matter who we look at over the course of history,
anyone that did anything significant caused people to get a little bitter.

It’s just the way it works.

Because…

Everyone has different passions in life.

If we’re living out ours, we’re bound to come in contact with someone who lives out the exact opposite.

In Christianity,
In ministry,
In leadership,
It’s kind of what we should expect.

A passionate life brings about passionate opposition.

We’re bound to butt heads.

If you’re facing opposition and not sure why,
look at your passion,
your conviction,
your faithfulness to it.

That could be why.

So,

We face a fork in the road…

Follow the passion,
or chase the never-ending goal of peacefulness.

I choose my passion.

I choose to…

turn the world UPSIDE down.

27
Jan 2011
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
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Blog, Church Ministry, Featured, Leadership

DISCUSSION 19 Comments
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Squealing Tires, Black Marks, & Moving Forward

When I first got my driver’s license, my friends and I used to have a little fun in our cars.

What we did wasn’t that safe for our lives or for our cars, but here’s what we liked to do…

We’d find a straight stretch of road with little traffic.
We’d come to a complete stop.
We’d put our car in neutral,
hit the gas,
and pop the car into drive.

The result was squealing tires and black marks.
We loved doing this.

Ultimately, we were just creating friction between our tires and the road.

We were creating friction by forward movement.

I’ve come to realize as my life has progressed that much of life works this way…

Forward movement creates friction.

When we’re laying low and staying comfy,
friction is usually minimal.

When we begin to move forward with our lives and pursue our vision and follow the call of God,
friction becomes heavy.

Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul understood moving forward and the friction that it created.
Heck, before his miraculous encounter with Christ, he helped create some friction for believers.

If you feel that the friction in your life has gotten more apparent recently,
remember…
forward movement creates friction.

You may not be doing anything wrong that’s resulting in the friction,
it may be just the opposite.

Press On!

29
Dec 2010
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
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Blog, Devotional Thought, Encouragement, Featured, Leadership, Life

DISCUSSION 13 Comments
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A Baby Changes Everything

I’m not a parent yet, but I’ve heard the stories of how a newborn baby completely changes their parents’ lives as soon as they’re born.

The parents’ priorities change, their time schedules change, their budgets change, their focus changes.
All of a sudden they have the responsibility of a human life other than their own.

A newborn baby changes everything.

Luke 2:12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

And so, Jesus changed EVERYTHING.

The religious system.
The inescapable punishment for our sins.
The course of human history.
The concept of true love.
The end of the world.
The hope of the world.

A baby changes everything…
In Jesus’ case, He changed the world!

21
Dec 2010
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
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Blog, Devotional Thought, Featured

DISCUSSION 9 Comments
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Life & Leadership From Tim Tebow

Like most Sunday afternoons, yesterday I sat down to watch some football…
(After all, Sundays are made for church, napping, and football.)

As I was flipping through the games, I came across Tim Tebow and his first start in the NFL.

For those of you that don’t follow football, Tim Tebow is a verbal Christian that many said didn’t have the right skills to play in the NFL.

Like him or not, Tebow had a pretty decent day in his first start as a pro.

He looked pretty impressive.

Here are a few lessons we can all learn from Tebow.

1. Be yourself. Tim Tebow makes no excuses for who he is and what he represents. Some people don’t like him, and he’s OK with that. He continues to be himself.

2. Be passionate. If you’ve ever seen him play, one of the first things you notice about Tebow is his passion for the game. He doesn’t hide it, rather he lets other people feed off of it. He loves what he does and he allows it to come through in the way he does it.

3.  Be tough. Tim Tebow doesn’t allow his critics to get to him. He has a way of overcoming criticism and out-performing what others expect (like yesterday). No matter what people say about him, he handles his business.

Be yourself. Be passionate. Be tough. Some great lessons all of us need to remember.

What “celebrity” have you learned a life lesson from?

20
Dec 2010
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
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Blog, Featured, Leadership, Life

DISCUSSION 13 Comments
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