Red Carpet Movie Poll

The ‘S’ Words that Suck

One of the greatest tools of the enemy is to make you believe you’re all alone.
That you have to fight this battle by yourself.
He uses two very key ideas/words.

Shame and Secrecy.

If satan can get you to feel shame about your sin, then he’s got you.
If he can get you to keep your sin a secret, then he’s got you.
That’s the bad news.

The good news?
When Jesus enters the picture, you realize that He already PAID for the shame…it’s not rightfully yours anymore, he took it from you.
When Jesus enters the picture, you realize the incredible freedom that comes from TRUTH and living in the LIGHT.  There is power in confessing your sin to God and to one another.

We must daily live in the grace that Jesus died for.
It is then, and only then, that shame and secrecy will have no power of you.

The extra mile…

Have you ever felt like you’re on the brink of something great?
That something will take you to the next level. Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally.
That something will enable the kind of discipline you only dream of.

You could be closer than you think.
Sometimes all it takes is going the extra mile.

What area of your life do you need to go the extra mile?
Do you need to step it up at work?
Take the first step towards mending a broken friendship?
Go without something for a few days in order to gain a greater sensitivity to God’s Spirit?

I encourage you,
Go the extra mile.
It’ll be worth it.

Lessons from John Q

A few weeks back I caught “John Q” on TV.
Denzel Washington is the main character…hence my fondness of it.
To sum up the story:
John’s son collapses at a baseball game.
Turns out he needs a new heart.
John can’t afford one.
Amidst taking the hospital hostage in order for his son to get a new heart,
John decides to kill himself in order to give the son his heart (spiritual undertones, I know)

And that’s where the lessons come in.
He is about to end his life so his son can live,
but he wants a few more words with his son.
Here is what John Q tells his son:

Listen to your mother
Treat girls like princesses
Don’t get caught up in the bad things

Now, life is more complicated than those three things.
But if you do those,
you are on the right track.

 

Go ahead. Walk out.

A friend of mine explained this analogy to me the other day.
I had heard it before, but this time I heard it with fresh ears.
It’s based on Romans 6:20-23.
We are no longer slaves to sin, but are now slaves to God!
Romans 8 goes on to say that we don’t have to give in to our sinful nature anymore…we can live by the Spirit, through the power of Christ.

Yet so many Christians, myself included, don’t live in this newfound victory.
It’s like we are in our own prison cells.
But the doors are not closed…instead they’re wide open.
There are no guards keeping us in the prison cell.
We just won’t walk out.

Sounds crazy right?
We do it everyday.
We are FREE from sin.
Yet we willingly walk back in the prison cell of sin and sit down.

Through Jesus, we can walk out.
We don’t have to sit there anymore.
We can be free.

What sin do you need to walk away from today?
I encourage you today through the powerful name of Jesus…
Walk out. 

Who are you becoming?

As I was reading the Gospels this month, I came across this subtle phrase.

…and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor

He became a traitor.
Which means he probably didn’t start out being a traitor.

Just a short reminder today to watch who you are becoming.
What influences are you letting in?
What false assumptions are you allowing yourself to believe?
What fears are you allowing to grow?

Who are you becoming?

200TEN Challenge

If you don’t know, then you should read about it.
I am running the Chicago Marathon with World Vision (and NorthRidge Church).
It’s something I am excited about
Nervous about.
Even scared about.
But at the end of the day I am stepping out on faith that this cause is greater than my fear.

I have been thinking about how I’m going to raise the support I desire.
I have pledged to raise $1,310.
That’s a chunk of change!
But I think we can do better.

See, I have 2,359 people on Facebook that call me friend (as of the time I’m writing this blog).
I also have over 800 people on Twitter that follow my tweets.
So it’s safe to say I have over 3,000 connections over the Social Media sites.

The challenge is fairly simple.
I’m asking 200 of you to step up.
TWO HUNDRED?!?!
Yup.
If 200 of you give $10, my goal will be SHATTERED.
And because $50 provides clean water for one person…
we will have provided FORTY people in Zambia with clean water.
Not bad for running a few miles.

So will you support me?
Will you join me in this cause?
Help me raise money so that people on the other side of the world can have clean water.

Let’s do this.
Join the 200.