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27

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?


Written by on February 2, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Church Ministry, Featured

19

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.


Written by on January 27, 2011 and categorized under Blog, Church Ministry, Featured, Leadership

13

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!


Written by on December 29, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Devotional Thought, Encouragement, Featured, Leadership, Life

9

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!


Written by on December 21, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Devotional Thought, Featured

13

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?


Written by on December 20, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Featured, Leadership, Life

8

You Better Be Sellin What You’re Buying

If something’s worth buying into, it’s worth bringing others along for the ride.

Some of the greatest salesmen are people that were once a customer of their company.
The ones that were so thrilled with what they bought that they ended up selling it.

Not only are they happy customers,
they’re happy salesmen.

No matter what you’re doing, if it’s good, you should be willing to sell it.

You should be willing to invest in it.
To share it.
To put your self on the line for it.

This concept transfers to many parts of life…

For leaders, this concept should be the goal.

That people are so in love with the vision that we’ve put in front of them, they’re not only willing to buy  into it (catch it), but they’re also willing to sell it and bring others along for the ride.

If not, we’ve failed to truly sell them on what we’re trying to accomplish.

For a Christian, you must be willing to sell what you buy.
Sure, you didn’t pay anything for your salvation, but you did agree to give your life for it.

You should be willing to ‘sell’ others on the same thing.

If you aren’t willing to share what you’ve dedicated your life to.
If you aren’t willing to tell others about what you are dedicated to.
If you aren’t willing to sell out for what you’ve bought into,

You’re not a true customer.

You should always be bought-in enough to sell.


Written by on December 17, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Featured, Leadership, Life

5

The Wishbone Principle

It happens to all of us from time to time.

Some may see it as what it is,
others may be a little more naive.

It may be the work of the enemy,
it may be the work of the flesh.

It’s that thing that tries it’s best to pull us from God.

I’ve always heard the saying that, “If God seems far away, you moved.”
There’s a ton of truth in that statement.

God is consistent.
His ways are perfect.
His truth remains.
His character is unchanging.

Our surroundings change and move.
It may be someone we care for.
It may be someone we can’t stand.
It’s that thing that keeps attempting to pull us from God.

For those of us that are holding onto Christ,
these situations can cause a lot of confusion.

We’re holding on to Christ,
that thing is pulling us away.

Eventually, we must choose what to let go of.
Eventually, we won’t be able to give enough of our selves to both.

If you find yourself in one of these situations today…
Let go of the inconsistent…
hold onto God.

The inconsistent is just that…inconsistent.
It’s not guaranteed to be there tomorrow.
It’s not guaranteed to sustain.

God is.
For eternity.

Let go of the garbage, hold on to God.


Written by on December 15, 2010 and categorized under Blog, Featured, Life

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