Summer Holy Days time...

I always have a good chuckle when I look at this picture. It reminds me of a T-shirt that I bought for one of my best friends when I was on holidays around the age of 14: Accept me the way I am- completely unacceptable.

Thankfully God accepts us just as we are- and loves us so much He won't leave us in that state!

2 Peter 1
Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

So, friends, confirm God's invitation to you, his choice of you. Don't put it off; do it now. Do this, and you'll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:10-12
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

May our God seek us and find us when we fall;
May our God love us and take delight in our living;
And may our God send us now with joy
For in our gladness and in our grieving -
In our brokenness and in our healing -
In our faithfulness and in our leaving
Our God who made us and redeemed us
the God who keeps us, still.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Disorganized. Full of integrity. Kind. Sincere. Intense. Eccentric. Passionate. Spontaneous. Periodically angry. Extremely bright. Painfully honest. Gregarious. Deeply insecure. A curious mix of introversion and extroversion. Fun loving. Doubtful . . . faithful . . . faith full . . . faith nurturing. Impractical. Extraordinary. Carefree. Lonely. Inquisitive. Adventurous. Blunderer. The absolute master of romance. Introspective. Inspiring. Forlorn. Tender. Energetic. Stress cadet. Snuggly. Grace obsessed. Grace filled. Grace spreader. Passionate. Clueless. Poetic. Road-rager. Indescribably hilarious. Both steady and erratic. Sensitive. Moral. Selfless. Whimsical. Prophetic. Artistic. Unruly. Wise. Honorable. Angst infested. Rebellious. Generous beyond description. Mess maker. Childlike. Remarkable. God haunted. Jesus lover. Jesus stalker. Jesus inhabited. His children’s loving, devoted, playful, motivating, and encouraging father and friend. My true love, soul mate, and incredible, one-of-akind husband: Michael.

Karla Yaconelli wrote that about her husband Mike after his death. What would be written about you? What would you want said about yourself?

The first step is always the toughest.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
Regarding life together and getting along with each other, you don't need me to tell you what to do. You're God-taught in these matters. Just love one another! You're already good at it; your friends all over the province of Macedonia are the evidence. Keep it up; get better and better at it.

James 1:22-27
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." Winston Churchill

James 1:19-21
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Philippians 4:11-13
I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you're again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. I don't mean that your help didn't mean a lot to me—it did. It was a beautiful thing that you came alongside me in my troubles.

In Stephen Covey's book The 8th Habit he speaks about four key assumptions for life:

For your body, assume you've had a heart attack; now eat and exercise accordingly.

For your heart, assume everything you say about another person, they can overhear; now speak accordingly. Always be loyal to the absent if you want to maintain the loyalty of those present.

For your mind, assume the half-life for your profession or work is two years; now prepare accordingly.

For your spirit, assume you have one-on-one communication with your creator now live accordingly.

Could these ideas help bring direction to your day and changes to your life?

Cynicism becomes a buffer against commitment. What we need is hope. The power has always been more about transformation than doctrine. Faith is the big issue. When politics fail, spiritual movements spring up. Jim Wallis

Is there a spiritual movement springing up in your neighborhood? Your family? Your workplace?

If there is, are you joining it?
If there isn't, do you want to see what God might be already doing that we are currently blind to?

Don't stop short- go all the way!

Titus 3:3-8
It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

Let the word of God dwell in your heart...

Ephesians 3:20
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Matthew 20:24-28
When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said,

"You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

The Prayer of Hope

The peace of still waters be with you;

The warmth of the sun shine on you;

The smile of a baby touch you;

The joy of heaven fill you.

Thanks be to you, O Christ

For calming stormy seas,

For tending to your creation,

For hope in small packages,

And, for a peek behind the curtain.

Thanks be to you, O Christ,

Thanks be to you. Amen. Chuck Warnock

Follow Me

“We need to begin to read the Bible differently. North Americans have been preoccupied with the end of the Gospel of Matthew, the Great Commission: “Go and make.” I call them go-and-make missionaries. These are the go-and-fix-it people. The go-and-make people are those who act like it’s all in our power, and all we have to do is “finish the task.” They love that passage! But when read from the center of power, that passage simply reinforces the illusion that it’s about us, that we are in charge.

“I would like to suggest a new favorite passage, the Great Invitation. It’s what we find if we read from the beginning of the Gospels rather than the end. Jesus says, “Come, follow me. I will make you fishers of men.” Not “Go and make,” but “I will make you.” It’s all about Jesus. And do you know the last words of Jesus to Peter, in John 21? “Follow me.” The last words of Simon Peter’s encounter are the same as the first words…” African Bishop David Zac Niringiye (from Len Hjalmarson)

Consumed

'Red-Letter Christians'

Some of our most “successful” church models function less like a community and more like a “mall of religion”, dispensing spiritual goods and services to members, rather than building genuine community around a shared mission. In such a consumer oriented church culture, congregations will begin to lose their “market share” as soon as another church hits town offering trendier programs. Our surveys overwhelmingly reflects that “consumerism” is one of the most significant dysfunctions in the North American church. Consumerism is present in small churches and mega churches. Our research shows that it knows no denominational boundaries. At the same time, the insidious power of consumerism grows exponentially as a church attracts throngs of people and garners more media attention.

This consumer driven environment places an exceptionally heavy burden on leaders. Many of these churches have often unwittingly abandoned the mission of the church to make disciples and form a priesthood of believers. Just as our secular culture is celebrity crazed, our consumer church culture creates celebrities in the very places we need servants. JOE JURKOWSKI

Each time a person stands for an Ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice he or she sends forth a tiny ripple of Hope. and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those Ripples build a Current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, and the Wrath of their society. MORAL COURAGE is a rarer commodity then bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yeilds most painfully to change. robert f. kennedy (from Chris E.)

Cool?

What does it mean to be cool?

Is joining Jesus in the building of God's kingdom cool for you?

Matthew 6:9-15
"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

"When we seek out that which is lost, we are loving our neighbor as we love ourselves and valuing people as God values them. If we as the Church keep this as our core focus and mission, we will never become an empty building or mere tourist attraction. We will be so occupied and fulfilled with doing what the Church was placed on this earth to do – taking what is inside the Church out into a broken world – that our doors will never close. The lost will be drawn to us because of our open arms and our loving, safe environment. Christina Caine, Stop Acting Like a Christian, Just Be One

"One of the most important things I've ever learned - and which I continue to learn - is this: God has a purpose in everything that happens." Tommy Nelson

Are you in a wilderness? Stuck in the desert? Afraid of the circumstances surrounding you?

What might God be saying? Is He perhaps bigger than we're thinking?

What kind of life do you think God has?

Your answer will very much determine what you think God is trying to give you.

God is alive and He is free. And He's for us! He isn't concerned about having power over us as a cruel slaveholder. His power among us means that He is free to give us all His heart desires. And His heart desires to give us life! He wants us to grow up into His own fullness and freedom. He wants us to be so fully committed to goodness that an observer with an untrained eye might say we were His slaves.

That's life. His life.

Matthew 11:30
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."