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.

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.

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.

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. 

…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?

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. 

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?

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.

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 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?