Taking Next Steps with Jesus

Jesus came and "Dwelt", made His home, 'Tabernacled', went camping, put skin on, became flesh; among us. I have been reading John 1: 1-2, 14 this week, and it has brought me to tears. "[ Prologue: Christ, the Eternal Word ] In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son." John 1:1-2, 14 NLT https://www.biblegateway.com/  Why would God do this?  Why would God leave His throne above, become human, and enter into our world?  The stories the the Bible about the Dad of the prodigal son and his brother come to mind.  A Father longing for His children. The story of the Leper who wondered if he was even worth it to heal. The Widows, and Orphans who were pushed out by society and b

Have you ever played a game where you had to wear a blindfold? It's a rather disorienting, and fascinating experience. In college my roommate was blind.  Dave was an exceptional human being.  He was an athlete who was a proficient Hockey Goalie, Downhill Skier, and he played for a para Olympic team--that he invited his other roomies--to come and play. The game was set on a volleyball court's dimensions, minus the net.  The lines were taped with a string underneath the tape.  There were 3 on a team, and if you think of the court divided in three sections horizontally where the 3 players would stand on the two sections at the ends, and the section in the middle (where the net would usually go) it was open. The goal was to take the medicine ball sized ball--which has 2 bells in it--and throw it so that it was on the ground by the time it was entering the middle section, and get it past the 3 players and cross the back line.  When you did so, your team received a point. 

Fear is a funny thing...sometimes. Doesn't that about sum it up? I find it fascinating when I hear someone tell me that they are afraid of something, and yet they want to get a closer look.  Why?  That usually has a set of humorous responses worthy of a YouTube video. I remember one of my first experiences of seeing someone truly afraid.  And it was strange. I was a small child, probably 5 or 6, and my family was at the zoo.  My brother and mom and grandma and I had come together, and we were walking into the exhibit that had the fish.  It was cool, and we were pretty engrossed with that different sizes and colors of fish that they had--huge difference from the 2 gold fish we had at home. As we were walking and chattering away, I remember seeing 2 large doors--the kind that were on hinges on the outsides, that swung back and forth when you opened them.  I remember that they were black, and thick, and each one had a small window that was taller than me. Then it happened.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God  [Sin is when we break God's laws--See Exodus 20:1-17  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ex+20&version=ESV ] 2 Corinthians 5: 21 For our sake he [God] made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 10:8-11 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);   because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.   For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.   For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”    Acts 4:10-12 [L]et it be known to all of you and to all the people of

This weekend we spent time discussing the odd touchpoints in the Bible of Genesis 11 and Acts 2.  The history was simply that when God created us, He gave us the freedom to be over everything that He has made.  Simply, go play, and see what we can do together.  In thinking through the ramifications of this invitation, God of the universe invites us to come and steward, to oversee, to rule over the creation...it's very difficult for my mind and heart to process that this side of the fall. To be made in God's image is more amazing than we understand--and I think that this is simply because we don't understand how awesome our God really is. Take a moment, how cool is God? -pause- All humanity fell.  The deep-six of our sin brought such an ugliness that God was sorry that He made us, and in the flood he effectively did a re-boot.  One family, by grace through faith, was saved, and the command given again--"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" Gen 9:

Find a friend who has 15 minutes to share with you and God.   Sit with them, call them, text them, FaceTime with them, Skype, start a note and pass it to them...grab lunch, a cup-of-joe, invite another friend, involve the waitress...who knows who God has in mind...why don't you ask Him who He wants you to talk with, and then do it.   Ok, ready...here we go: ______________________ Open your Bible and read together:   " Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.   Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.   Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.   And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.   Let t

 " The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."                                 --John 10:10 ___ I'm not sure where this will find you today, or what your world looks like.   I'm not sure how your heart is right now; wrestling, celebrating, asking, hoping, grieving, wanting.   I am sure though, that you want a good life.  A full life.  A satisfying life.  A life of meaning and a direction in life that fulfills you.  Even if you are at a point where you are angry  and bitter, I'll bet that it comes from life letting you down either by someone else's choices, your choices, or from living in a broken world. I think that the child's comments sum it up clearly, "That's not fair!" There is something in us that tells us that life was not meant to be broken, full of sadness, and dying. We weren't meant to be disconnected, lonely, and wondering why. My prayer is tha

34  Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35  You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe [ e ] for harvest. 36  The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37  You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38  I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”   John 4: 34-38 NLT https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=NLT Who's on your list? Once we start on this disciplemaking journey that Jesus has invited us on, He begins to change us and shape us to be like Him.   Since the Holy Spirit is daily shaping us to like Jesus, how do we intentionally lean in and join God willing

This morning I sat with my kiddos and we talked about a disciplemaking life and the normal parts of helping each other take next steps with Jesus together.  Study the Bible together.  Pray together.  Love one another.  Worship--celebrate who God is and what He is doing. In this we trust that God is going to show up, and do great big God things and help us to hit the target He has for us. When we talked about loving one another, we looked at the story in the Bible where Jesus washed His disciples feet.  It's funny, but at the passover meal, the meal where Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, the disciples were arguing...about...stinky feet.  Yup.  Stinky Feet. Only the lowest servant would wash feet...cause the streets, well they didn't have cars, they had horses and oxen...and well, it was messy.  The fact is that they wore sandals, and their feet were dirty and stinky. I want to give you a link to a video from the Jesus Storybook Bible: ( http://ww

Jesus says in John 14: 12-14:      “Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can’t believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it. That’s how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I’ll do."  --The Message, www.biblegateway.com   Hold on:   '[T]he person who trusts in me will not only do what I'm doing, but even greater things...' Ummmm, you do realize that it's Jesus who is saying this, right?   You know, the Jesus who healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead.  The Jesus who calmed the storm, walked on water, multiplied bread and fishes.  The Jesus who loved the unlovely, pursued