Code Orange Goodness – Part 3

This is part of a blog series about the Code Orange Revival.
Read Part 1, and then Part 2.

Today the lesson is simple, yet profound:

Emotion to Devotion
Conviction to Commitment

Again, not sure who said it.
But it relates to the first part I posted.
There are so many moments where we get emotional about our faith.
Those moments must be turned into practical steps of devotion so that our faith can grow.
Much like our emotion, our convictions can be many…
but unless we take steps to turn our convictions into commitment to follow through,
we will stay in the land of “someday I’ll stop doing that” or “someday I’ll take a risk for God.”

Some questions I’m asking myself:
Where has God moved in my life?
What has been my most recent conviction?
Am I willing to take some action towards devotion and commitment?

Code Orange Goodness – Part 2

I’m in sort of a blog series about Code Orange Revival.
Read the first learning here.

Today I want to focus in on another learning.

“You have no room to doubt your worth…you’ve already been purchased. Your worth is SET in Jesus’ blood”

I’m not actually sure who said it
(after 12 nights, they all kind of blend together)
But isn’t it good?
It’s quite simple too.
If I buy a product for $20, then that product is worth $20 to me.
If I think it’s worth it, I’ll buy it.

How much more for our heavenly Father,
who thought it right to send His son as the rescue plan to provide redemption for us all.
He thought you were worth it, so He purchased you…through Jesus.

So how dare you say you’re not worth anything.
Your worth is actually not up for negotiation.
It’s been settled.
For some time now.
You’re worth a lot.
Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

 

Code Orange Goodness

Elevation Church just got finished with 12 nights of revival.
12 different preachers.
12 worship experiences in a row.
Dang.

So the next few days I thought I would share some learnings from the 12 nights.
Today I want to focus on something Steven Furtick said during night 12.

“God can inspire a moment, your obedience creates momentum.”

The past 12 nights for Elevation have been “retreat” like.
I’m in youth ministry, so I’ve been on countless retreats.
There are inspired moments, to be sure.
Moments of clarity.
Moments where conviction is strong and the Holy Spirit is working overtime.
But as I’ve seen time and time again,
those moments will pass.
And the only thing that remains is the steps of obedience you take in response to the inspiration.

What has God inspired in you?
What are the correlating steps of obedience that He wants you to take?
Will you take them?

I Love Football

I enjoy most sports.
Watching and playing.
So this time of year is especially nice.
Football.
Every single week.

I don’t this analogy is especially brilliant,
or new by any means.
But it hit me in a fresh way.

Every single player has a role.
And every role is different.
If a player doesn’t play his part,
the whole team loses.
(see where I’m going with this?)

I’ve always thought it’d be sweet to be a quarterback.
They’re the ones who get all the credit.
They’re the ones who are in the spotlight.
But I’ve grown to really respect the dudes who block FOR the quarterback.
Those guys are HUGE.
Those guys are needed.
Without those guys the play doesn’t happen.

Here’s a question I’ve been asking:
What am I doing right now that’s not necessarily “quarterback” status,
but is paving the way for the team to move down the field?

God’s Trophy

I’ve been thinking about this idea of God “showing off” his Grace and Mercy.
1 Peter 2:9 says this

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

We are God’s trophies.
Trophies of his love.
His mercy.
His patience.
His kindness.
His faithfulness.
His holiness.
His grace.
His ability to restore purity.
His willingness to forgive.
His ability to provide.

If you’ve been redeemed by Jesus than you are a shining example of the what God can do through Jesus Christ.
How are you at being God’s trophy?
Do you need a little cleaning?
Perhaps a shine?

We are walking examples of God’s capabilities.
That’s not something to take lightly.

Rend Collective Experiment

This past Saturday I went to Woodside Bible Church to hear Francis Chan speak.
It was a great talk.
But the unexpected part of the evening was how good the band was.
I had never heard of Rend Collective.
But they have some mad talent.
I quickly went to iTunes and bought their album.
They are an Irish Worship band.
Well worth the listen.

Swag and a Limp

I have really enjoyed the past few days, and I’m really looking forward to the next week.
Why? You ask.
Among many other things, Elevation Church has hosted the Code Orange Revival.
You can watch it on the Elevation Network.
Here’s the summary:  They are having 12 nights in a row where they put on a worship experience.
But it’s not just Steven Furtick teaching all 12 nights.
Nope.
It’s 12 different preachers.
So you can imagine for a guy like me, this is what heaven is going to be like.

One night in particular they had Matt Chandler…pastor of The Village Church.
He said a phrase that rocked my world.

In Heaven you won’t walk with swag, nor will you have a limp.

Let me explain.
First, we won’t walk with swag.
Of course not, it was by GRACE we are saved…not by our own works, so that no one can walk with swag (Adam Mashni Version).
You and I did absolutely nothing to deserve Heaven.
No room for swag.
Second, we won’t walk with a limp.
This may be tough for some to grasp (it is for me)
The natural response to this is, “But you don’t know what I’ve done!”
Newsflash, God does know what you did (and are going to do).
He sent Jesus anyway.
Through faith in Jesus we are accepted as Heirs.
Adopted sons and daughters.
HIS righteousness given to us.
It’s the power of the Gospel…it’s our hope and comfort.

So I encourage you, as I myself strive for this
Know who you are in Christ,
But also know you did nothing to get there.

Running (for) Water

I am doing two things I’ve never done before.
First, a few days ago I committed to run the Chicago Marathon.
Second, I am running it with Team World Vision.
I am super excited to be doing this with a team from NorthRidge.
This past weekend my Pastor, Brad Powell, introduced this partnership.

I am super excited to prepare for this.
Emotionally
Physically
Spiritually
I think this experience is going to bring me to a whole new level.

The best part is not THAT I’m running the race.
It’s WHY I’m running.
I don’t have to rattle off stats about how clean water is hard to come by in parts of Africa…you already know that.
Running with World Vision ensure that the money that is raised goes directly to providing clean water to people who don’t have it.
Very cool.

Want to help?
I’d love for you to be a part of this by donating to this cause.

Faith

The RustProof team is reading through the Gospels in 30 days.
During my reading various scriptures will pop out at me.
This was one of them.
A few days back I passed by this…

What a question, huh?!
Do you believe?
There are so many things that I believe that Jesus can do.
Same goes for you.
Some things are just easy to believe in.
But then there are those other things…
Do I really believe Jesus’ plan for my finances is the best one?
Do I really believe Jesus when he told me not to worry about my future?
Those are some tough questions…
But questions worth answering with a resounding ‘Yes, Lord’
Easy to write.
Difficult to live.
Let’s take the step of Faith and believe Jesus

#lovemyjob

If you follow me on Twitter than it’s no surprise that I love what I do.
I mean, seriously…I get to participate in some pretty cool things.
Lead students to a life of faith in Christ, then on the journey to full devotion.
I’ll take that!
It definitely helps that I work with some of coolest people on planet earth.

Last week we had a video shoot that reminded me just how cool my job was.
Here is a photo that sets up what went down.
We called in one of our students, a Plymouth High School linebacker.
The assignment was simple.
Be huge.
Tackle the pastor.
Make it funny.

What we ended up with was 4 or 5 videos that are going to promote our Superbowl Weekend Party in RustProof.
The next day I was pretty sore, I’ll tell ya that much.
You’ll just have to wait and see the videos.