If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say?

And why are you waiting?

Do not assume that he who seeks to comfort you now, lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life may also have much sadness and difficulty that remains far beyond yours. Were it otherwise, he would never have been able to find these words. Rainer Maria Rilke

The life he has planned for Christians is a Christian life, much like the life he lived. He was not poor that we might be rich. He was not mocked that we might be honored. He was not laughed at so that we could be lauded. On the contrary, he was revealing the Christian picture of man, one that was meant to include you and me.

In choosing to be born in utter obscurity, the king of the universe ignored conventional expectations. He celebrated in his own birthday the freedom to be unorthodox. In failing to live up to people's presuppositions, Jesus became a stumbling block to many of his contemporaries. The houseborken Jewish imagination cringed at the crib, shuttered at the ersatz salvation of a humble, unpredictable God. A king in rags was an insult to the finely honed intellect of the Pharisee and the rational mind of the scribe. There is a fascinating principle at work here in very religious people: 'Messiah, you get our allegiance only when you fulfill our expectations.' Brennan Manning

Who has God placed in your neighborhood, workplace or city that He is asking you to begin to cultivate a new friendship with?

"Love is a better master than duty." Albert Einstein

What attitude are you reflecting to the world around you?

"What if praise were on the tip of our tongues like we were a loaded weapon in the hands of a trigger-happy meth addict and every moment might just set us off?" David Crowder

Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Walking With the Wounded

"To believe the biblical promises of hope requires a courage to face up to the mystery of suffering itself. It requires a confident assurance that the God who created this world is also the God who also suffers with us in the turmoil and uncertainty of the dark hours of life. The divine call is to share the journey of solidarity with the brokenhearted. As those who carry the name of the biblical God, we are called to walk by faith in the darkest corners of the earth. And we are called to wait for the consummation of creation in the completion of the divine promises. En route to that day, we travel as pilgrims, and as a pilgrim people we engage in the vocation of walking as faithful disciples in a broken world." Stan Grenz and Phil Zylla

1 Peter 5:1-5
I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it's like to be a leader, in on Christ's sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way.

When God, who is the best shepherd of all, comes out in the open with his rule, he'll see that you've done it right and commend you lavishly. And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for— God has had it with the proud, But takes delight in just plain people.

Come and get found...

Coolness might help in your negotiation with people through the world, maybe, but it is impossible to meet God with sunglasses on. It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw. Bono

God really does love you...

Do you believe it?

Are you experiencing it?

Yac

It really bugs me that we have decided in our churches to come up with the management model and that is the model we’re using to govern most of our churches. So we got to have a strategic plan. We’ve got to have a missions statement. We’ve got to have little forms to fill out to put down what we are doing. Give me a break! The church is not IBM!… Who in the Hell came up with that idea?! Mike Yaconelli

"We are called to be fruitful - not successful, not productive, not accomplished. Success comes from strength, stress, and human effort. Fruitfulness comes from vulnerability and the admission of our own weakness.” Henri Nouwen

Climb up the ladder to success...

Philippians 2:5-7
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

Success matters

Being rich toward God means growing a soul that is increasingly healthy and good.
Being rich toward God means loving and enjoying the people around you.
Being rich toward God means learning about your gifts and passions and doing good work to help improve the world.
Being rich toward God means becoming generous with your stuff.
Being rich toward God means making that which is temporary become the servant of that which is eternal.
Being rich toward God means savoring every day, regardless of the cicumstances that may arise. John Ortberg

What kind of success are you looking for?

World B Free

Galatians 5:1
The Life of Freedom
Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

God loves you and has a difficult plan for your life.

2 Corinthians 6:4-9
As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

It has been said that attitude is the aroma of the heart.

What would your friends say emanates from your heart- a beautiful fragrance or the smell of BO?

Proverbs 14:30
A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

"Youth is meant for heroism and not pleasure." Tony Campolo

John Eldredge writes about three types of bravery:

1. Physical bravery. This is a soldier on the battlefield. This is a fireman running into a burning building when everyone else is running out.

2. Emotional bravery. This is taking a stand and risking rejection or embarrasment.

3. Spiritual bravery, where we take a stand of faith, martyrdom, and the like.

Or should we just go sip a latte?

Jubilee Is Here, Now

Luke 4:18-19
God's Spirit is on me; he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, "This is God's year to act!"

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the place was on him, intent. Then he started in, "You've just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place."

The Ordinary Fear of God...

ONE GOOD YEAR
It’s New Years Day just like the day before
Same old skies of grey, same empty bottles on the floor
Another years gone by, and I was thinking once again
How can I take this losing hand and somehow win

Just give me One Good Year. To get my feet back on the ground
I’ve been chasing grace. Grace ain’t so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man, chase him and carry him down
I’ve got to get out of here, just give me One Good Year

I’m burning oil, engine’s running rough
I drive from job to job, but it’s never enough
I can’t find the will to just up and get away
Some kind of chain is holding me down and making me stay

It’s a bitter wind in your face every day
It’s the little sins that wear your soul away
When you start giving in, where do the promises all go
Will your darkest hour write a blank check on your soul

It’s New Years Day just like the day before
Same old skies of grey, same empty bottles on the floor
Another years gone by, and I was thinking once again
How can I take this losing hand and somehow win

Just give me One Good Year. To get my feet back on the ground
I’ve been chasing grace. Grace ain’t so easily found
One bad hand can devil a man, chase him and carry him down
I’ve got to get out of here, just give me One Good Year

Writes Russell Crowe, "This song is important to me because it contains two of the great single lyric lines I have ever heard; one of which is "I've been chasing grace, grace ain't so easily found". The other is, "Will your darkest hour write a blank cheque on your soul"."

I can't agree more- they are two of the most profound lines ever:

I've been chasing grace, grace ain't so easily found.

Will your darkest hour write a blank cheque on your soul?

Celebrate What’s Right With The World

Psalm 57:7-11
I'm ready, God, so ready, ready from head to toe, ready to sing, ready to raise a tune: "Wake up, soul! Wake up, harp! wake up, lute! Wake up, you sleepyhead sun! I'm thanking you, God, out loud in the streets, singing your
praises in town and country. The deeper your love, the higher it goes; every cloud is a flag to your faithfulness. Soar high in the skies, O God! Cover the whole earth with your glory!"

“Most people live and die and they don’t even know what their calling was. Maybe they didn’t take the time to push the pause button. What happens when you find your calling – everything stops and you just see what you’re supposed to do and why you’re supposed to do it. When Iheard the first guitar in Tijuana, it made me realize that I have possibilities and opportunities to discover and nothing was gonna stop me.” Carlos Santana