3 Awesome Girls Who Rock!

Mormons VS Gospel Gangsta

There's nothing better then a fair and balanced discussion...

Change Change Change: Part 2

It’s crazy! So many things all around me are in an accelerated season of change. People are coming. People are going. Some people feel blessed…others feel forgotten and overlooked. Some are receiving answers…others are asking questions.

When I’m in the midst of transition, in my personal life or corporately, I tend to get anxious. When the secure suddenly becomes the unknown, it freaks me out!

Confession: “I’m addicted to comfort.” It’s true. I like things safe. I like things to be predictable.

But the truth is God hasn’t promised me a “comfortable” life.

He hasn’t promised me a “safe” life.

I'm not called to an easy life...I'm called to live an obedient life.

And what this means for me is that I can't base my calling on the circumstances and situations around me. In my experience, those change all too often.

What I need to do is respond to what God has called me as a follower of Him to do...Minister His love and His Grace to the world around me. And that...will NEVER change.

Caution: That kind of life is highly UN-predictable!

Change Change Change: Part 1

Change freaks me out. Change makes me uncomfortable. It makes me doubt. It makes me question.

Change always thrust me into the realm of the unknown...it strips me of my security.

It robs my self-confidence...It separates me from loved ones...it makes me angry.

Yes, it can do all of that and yet...I truly believe, Change Is GOOD. Why?

Change causes me to pray.

Change brings me to my knees where I remember that God is in control. I remember to depend on Him. I remember to let Him be my confidence. In the midst of change, I NEED to hear from God. He HAS to show up.

And living in the realm of faith is where I'm called to be.

The Pastor Has A Limo!

I had two conversations take place yesterday...

Both loosely related things made me ask this question:

"Are we as followers of Christ living out what Jesus had in mind when He commissioned His followers to spread His teaching to every nation?"

Ok. So my first conversation took place after attending a worship experience at a "mega-church" here in San Diego. Following the service, after approximately 100 people responded to the invitation to receive Christ, a friend of mine mentioned how disgusted he was in the presentation of the Gospel...or lack there of.

He went on to say that everything from the lights, fog machines, cameras, and production...to the "diet-caffeine-free" version of the gospel made him sick. "There's just so much more to it than this!" he kept saying. (I gave him some of my Easter candy and calmed him down.)

The second conversation happened shortly after that. A friend of a friend of a friend said that she walked out of a service after hearing that the limo parked in the front of the church belonged to a pastor who was guest speaking that night. "It doesn't matter who you are...you DON'T come to church in a limo...especially if you're a pastor!" (There was no more candy to give away at this point.)

The truth is, there are people everywhere who are doing things differently. We may not agree with "how" they preach or what "strategies" they use to spread the Gospel. I know I could talk with you for a long time all about how I think churches should do things. (Yes, I can be a little opinionated.)

But instead of launching a full investigation into why and how a pastor decided to show up to church in a limo...and instead of questioning the use of fog machines during a worship set, I've been encouraged by someone special in my life to do what Paul did...try to think like he thought. Check this out:

18-21So how am I to respond? I've decided that I really don't care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!

Philippians 1:18 (The Message)

Also see what the NIV says.

It was just what I needed to hear. In these matters we run the risk of confusing principals with preferences. I know I have a difficult time sifting through the two.
And...I'm not saying it's a good idea to stick our heads in the sand when it comes to peoples doctrine. Don't do that.(Sand gets in your ears and is messy.)

Do this: Rejoice that Christ is being preached which equals...the Great Commission!

The Devils Music

Have you ever heard any one call a certain style of music "Devils Music"? I definitely have. It's usually used to describe music that has heavy and screeching guitar riffs, relentless double-bass drums, and overly feminine men screaming about who knows what...you know, the stuff Seiji listens to. (Love you Bro!)

"That sounds like the devils music!"...is a line I heard a lot growing up. And that was usually followed by me taking my tapes...yes TAPES (I'm old-school)out back and destroying them with my dads hammer! My parents would stand behind me and chant, "Take THAT Satan!!!" ...Ok, maybe they didn't do that.

The funny thing is, I always got caught. Every tape I had was discovered. I started wondering if my parents were recieving morse code from God telling them where my secret musical stash was! And then I would hear it. "Matt, we don't want that devil music in our house!" It's hammer time! No pun intended.

Let me get to my point.

First, a disclaimer: I'm not encouraging you to go behind your parents backs in any way. Whatever the rules of the house are...are the rules.

What I do want to ask is this...

If there really was a genre that we could call "Devils music", what would it be? What would it sound like?

I believe there is a lot of destructive messages in so much music today. But as I really think about it...as I read more about how Satan works, a different idea surfaces of what "Devil music" really is.

Satan will do whatever he can to kill, steal, and destroy what God creates and what ultimately glorifies our Lord.
I start to think that the Devils music isn't so much the music with the shredding solo that was written while the band was high on drugs... but more like worship music.

Not just worship music, but APATHETIC worship.

When we fail to give God the totality of who we are.

When instead of focusing on who He is and responding to what He's done...we remain unengaged and apathetic.

Satan knows if he can infiltrate our heart, mind, and souls, we will never be able to worship our God in spirit and in truth.

Worship through music...that to me is an important and often overlooked battleground.

And when our worship through music becomes apathetic, that's when it becomes "Devils Music".

What Ship Are You On?

Aren’t cruises the best! Five star dining, amazing buffets, great entertainment, full relaxation, and your every need met. Cruises allow us to enjoy ourselves, be catered to and experience those blissful, carefree moments. Did I mention the food yet?
There is a myriad of enticing options out there, all of which can provide us with ultimate comfort and indulgence.
What is scary and harmful is when this ‘philosophy of comfort’ makes its way into the church. When we think of the church as a cruise ship we stop doing what Christ called us to do: Serve.
The Church should look more like a battleship. Everyone working together, participating, getting each others backs, all working toward the same goal! Scripture is abundantly clear. We’re the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4) We all play a role. As followers of Christ and as a part of His Body, the Church, it is our biblical mandate to serve so that the Body of Christ may be built up.
So, what ship are you on? WHERE are you serving? Where are you allowing God to use you to build up The Body?

The sooner we can shift our paradigm from the “cruise ship” mentality to a “battleship” mentality, the sooner we begin to become the church Jesus intended us to be.

McDevo's

For those of you who attended Bedside Baptist last Sunday and enjoyed the Charger game while we were worshipping God, I thought I would leave you with a "Cliff Notes" version of what we talked about in the HSM. I would hate for you to miss out on this! So here ya go...

Don't settle for the fast food devotional life.

You know you've done it. We've all been super hungry and instead of taking time to prepare a healthy meal for ourselves or wait for mom to prepare her nutritious casserole, we pull into the drive-thru, order and eat as fast as we can just so we won't feel the pain of starvation any longer. Are you feeling me?
Well, we all know there are healthier alternatives, right?

"But doesn't a Big Mac have lettuce? That's healthy, isn't it?"-Me

Truth is, we do the same thing when it comes to our spiritual appetites. We're hungry for a taste of God but lack the discipline it takes to cook something up from His Word. I'm guilty of this. I've caught myself reading A verse or throwing out a "shout out" to Jesus somewhere in between waking up and falling asleep. And then I'll feel discouraged, easily angered, and frustrated and I'll wonder why. Hmmm...

I'm convinced that if my devotional life is ever gonna grow, I'm gonna have to feed it the nutrition that only an unhurried time with God can provide. How about you?

People Disappoint Me

Do you ever have those moments where everyone disappoints you? Those times where it seems like there's a secret allegiance of people who have decided that it was their goal for their day to ruin yours? I don't know about you but I've definitely have felt this a lot.

If I'm really honest with myself, I know why. I can see exactly what's going on. What I know is that as soon as I stop seeking God and looking to Him to fill me, I've outsourced that need to those around me. Let me unwrap this.

We all have deep, inner needs, right? (Just say yes.)

We all crave meaning, joy, and fulfillment, don't we? (Well, I do!)

As soon as I stop looking to God to meet my needs, I place that responsibility in the laps of the people in my life.

No wonder I find myself over and over again being bummed out by the people I love.

No wonder I get left hanging...

No wonder I feel hurt by the littlest things.

I've placed an impossible task in the hands of limited people. That doesn't sound too fair! We will never be fully satisfied if we are placing the role of God in the hands of other people.

Let God be God and let people be people.

"God, you're so random!"

It's interesting to read the Bible with a "panned out" view and to be able to see the over-arching theme, the beginning of a story and the end. But it's an entirely different experience when you enter into the story. Know what the characters know. Feel what they feel. When you actually hit the zoom button and become engaged with the circumstances, the story becomes more real.

Both points of view are important. We just need to figure out when to "pan out" and when to "zoom in".

This morning, I was reading the story of the mass exodus the Israelites made from Egypt. Everything from the Passover to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart to the Red Sea just kept me thinking, "God....you're so random!"

What would you do if God told you to kill poor little Lambchop and spread his blood over your door? And because you did that you would be spared...? Random!

Or how would you handle the fact that God just allowed for you to be free from your captivity and now he has you trapped between an angry Egyptian army and a big Red Sea? With a zoomed in view you can "feel" the stress and uncertainty of that situation.

Now begin to pan back and see what happens. Israel is saved and God is glorified. Cool Verse Here
Sorry to ruin it for you. But looking at the story as a whole, you're able to see why God did what He did.

You see that the details that seemed random...weren't.
It was all purposeful. It was all part of a bigger plan.

Right now, you may have a "zoomed in" view of your own unfolding story.
Things and details may not make sense to you.

But what a story like this teaches us is that God is doing something. Something that we may not see because our viewpoint is so limited.

But He is also providing us with what we need for every situation.Another cool verse. There may be trials, blessings, people, or situations in your life that seem random up close.

But maybe they're not random.

Maybe they're what you need and if you could only pan back, you might see why.