if? (part 2)

What if we lived without fear?

• if you weren't afraid of death, what would you do?
• if you weren't afraid of what people thought of you, what would you do?
• if you weren't afraid of failing, what would you do?
• if you weren't afraid of rejection, who would you talk to?
• if you weren't afraid of wasting time, what would you stop doing?
• if you weren't afraid of poverty, how would you give money away?
• if you weren't afraid of ___________, you would ___________.

He paid an incredible price for you to live in freedom, are you?

"But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying." Hebrews 2:15

if?

"The biggest word only has two letters, it is the word if". - My baseball coach when I was 8

That small word drives our lives, think about it. "What if...

• I fail
• I can't find a spouse; a friend
• I get sick
• I can't find a job
• I can't find a house
• my marriage doesn't work
• my friends leave me
• war breaks out
• if ___________ wins the election

Add your own.

"Once these questions guide our lives, we take out a second mortgage in the house of fear." - Brennan Manning

We do have a mortgage crisis in our country it's called fear.

I heard it once said that "fear is interest paid on a debt you may not owe."

• 60% of our fears are totally unwarranted; they never come to pass.
• 20% of our fears are focused on the past, which is completely out of our control.
• 10% of our fears are based on things so petty that they make no difference in our lives

Of the remaining 10%, only 4% to 5% could be justifiable.

"In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love." - 1 John 4:18

"Make your home in me, as I make mine in you." - John 15:4

Live in Him today, live free!

What a week!

That's the way I've felt all week!

Two twenty hour days in a row will take you out a few days in the real world, but they will take you out for a week in the blog world. Hope to catch up soon.

Sunday reflections

What a whirlwind of a day!

• Get a call from Scott at 9 pm on Saturday saying "I can't go tomorrow, you're up!"
• 4:45 am - 1 pot of coffee and good to go. It's amazing how clear God can be after java.
• Another great day @ FOTH!
• Can not believe "Back in Black" as the prelude. They killed it. Incredible!
• Suprised to see some friends from Victoria in the crowd.
• Yes, the snake story really did happen and yes, I was that scared.
• Great meeting after church to launch Revolution. Awesome launch team, you guys rock!
• Get in the truck and drive to Jacksonville to catch a plane to Austin.
• What a boring 2 1/2 hour drive, seriously! I hate I-10!!
• Driving to JAX without a surfboard in the back of the truck stinks even more.
• Get an upgrade to first-class, when your 6'3 you never turn down more leg room!
• Switch planes in Houston for next segment, then have to switch planes again because of a bad wing flap, probably a good thing to notice before we get in the air!
• Fly into Austin late, real late to train a group of church planters tomorrow and then back to JAX and that horrible drive home around midnight.
• It has been a killer day though! Late.

It’s coming…

We came to Tallahassee with the vision of one church with multiple locations.

Our second campus is in the works!

We are seeking to join God where He is at work, and He has provided us an opportunity. We came with a vision to reach the next generation thinking that our 2nd location would be for the students at FSU, FAMU, and TCC. We came also saying that it was not going to be about us, we just wanted to be a part of what God was doing in Tallahassee. God has been active in reaching college students through The Well (www.nomorethirst.org) and Dean Inserra, and so we've been partnering with them and looking forward to what God has in store for us.

Over the last couple of months I felt that God wanted us to do something to reach Junior High/High School students in Tallahassee and he has confirmed that. A few weeks ago, Ashley Gholston, who owns Cheerco, approached us about partnering with her for the sake of the Kingdom. She has agreed to let us use her building on Sunday evenings to reach Jr/HS students and push the 250 girls she trains to attend.

"If we use our talents to honor God, God will grant us even greater opportunities. And He has definitely given me my greater opportunity!! As you know a year ago God really pressed on my heart to open up a Christian Cheerleading Facility here in Tallahassee. A place where we could provide a great environment for young girls, but my ultimate desire was to make CheerCo not just a facility for cheerleading, but a place where we can worship and praise the one who gave us the talents to cheer! I have prayed for almost a year that God would allow us to start a ministry through CheerCo and I am happy to announce that time has come!" - Ashley Gholston

So, over the last couple of weeks, we have been meeting with a leadership team to get this kicked-off. We will host preview services for Revolution once a month in March, April & May and then launch this campus in June!

It dawned on me this week that this may be exactly the type of church God wants to use to reach college students. The Christian life, the "way", is about giving your life away, washing feet, service; not serve us. What an incredible way to reach college students and to show them it's not about you, there is something much bigger than that!

Here is what we see:

Revolution is a sudden, complete or marked change in something: almost the same as Repent, which means to turn and go in another direction. It's about life change, the life we find in Christ.

Jesus came not to start a religion, but to start a revolution that would change the world.

Jesus is not just another revolutionary; he is calling for revolutionary new sort of revolution. You've never heard anything like His message, and you are both attracted and unsettled.

His message was that the Kingdom of God is at hand and available to all! That statement seemed completely unrealistic at the time.

What if God started a church of students that

turned the world up-side down…sounds unrealsitic doesn't it?

"The radical revolutionary empire of God is here, advancing by reconciliation and peace, expanding by faith, hope, and love – beginning with the poorest, the weakest, the meekest and the least. It's time to change your thinking. Everything is about to change. It's time for a new way of life. Believe me. Follow me. Believe this good news so you can learn to live by it and be a part of the revolution." Wes White

This revolution will not take place with hatred or violence. It will happen with reconciling forgiving love: when people love strangers and enemies, that's when the kingdom gains ground.

4 words that need a revolution in this generation

Enjoy

Volunteer

Obey

Lead

Which leads to a revolution in the way you live your life – LOVE

Enjoy (Connect) "praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." – Acts 2:47

• We will learn to enjoy the favor of all people.
  


• We will see everyone as God's sacred creation.
  


• We will believe that all people are created in His image and that He died for them also.
  

Volunteer (Serve) "but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" – Phil 2:7

• We will do something now, it's not about us.
  


• We will give our lives away and in that we will find them.
  


• We will be about service, not serve us.
  

Obey (Grow) "To obey is better than sacrifice" – 1 Samuel 15:22

• We will learn to be obedient because He desires our obedience more than anything.
  


• When we live a life of obedience, we will see that life works.
  

Lead (Go) "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

• We will be leaders among believers.
  


• We will lead now by being an example.
  


• As we live this way people will want what we have.
  

LOVE God, LOVE people. (Honor) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matt 22:37-39

Revolution – Are you ready?

Storms

I woke this morning to the news of the disastrous tornadoes that killed at least 44 people in the South, knowing the line is headed this way.

I started thinking about how to prepare for the storms in your life?

First, I must know the facts about storms:

• They may strike quickly, with little or no warning. So do storms in our lives!
  


• They may appear nearly transparent until dust and debris are picked up or a cloud forms in the funnel.
  Ever had a storm hit you that you didn't see coming?
  


• The average tornado moves Southwest to Northeast, but tornadoes have been known to move in any direction. Storms can come from any direction.
  


• The average forward speed of a tornado is 30 MPH, but may vary from stationary to 70 MPH. Some storms move through your life slower than others.
  


• Damage paths can be in excess of one mile wide and 50 miles long. Storms can devastate all areas of your life. (family, friends, finances, faith)
  


• Every state is at some risk from this hazard. We are all at risk.
  


• Before a tornado hits, the wind may die down and the air may become very still. Some storms hit when everything is going good in your life.
  


• A cloud of debris can mark the location of a tornado even if a funnel is not visible. Others may see the marks of a storm in your life before you will.
  

Secondly, you must listen to the forecasters for watches and warnings.

Who is watching over you?

Thirdly, look for the danger signs, if there are any take shelter in a safe place.

Where is your safe place?

Why is it that during storms in our life we run from the church instead of in to it?

Is it because they are no longer safe places?

Finally, remember that Jesus has the power over the storms in your life.

When he woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, "Quiet down!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:39

Jesus can calm the storm and he can calm you.

Seek refuge in Him today!

Risk

We commenced plugging up in foot deep steps with a thin wind crust on top and precious little belay for the ice-axe. It was altogether most unsatisfactory and whenever I felt feelings of fear regarding it I'd say to myself, 'Forget it!? This is Everest and you've got to take a few risks.'
Edmund Hillary

You've climbed the highest mountain in the world. What's left? It's all downhill from there. You've got to set your sights on something higher than Everest.
Willi Unsoeld

What's higher than Everest? The Kingdom of God.

What are you risking for it?

Live life with no fear!

…pick up the towel

This past week near my hometown in Texas, members of a radical Kansas church planned to picket outside a Naval Air Station.

They were expected to carry signs that read "God Hates the Nation," and to thank God for the Jan. 16 helicopter crash that claimed the lives of three sailors based there. They believe God punished the officers because of the sins of the nation.

The church issued a press release, which reads "Thank God for navy copter crash in Texas, killing three."

I'm sure if you asked their members they would tell you that this is God's desire for them.

Well, it's not His desire for us at FOTH.

I believe his desire for us is to put down our picket signs and pick up a basin of water and towel to wash feet, then maybe the world would sit up and listen.

Or maybe they wouldn't. But either way we would be more like Jesus.

Matthew 20:28
John 13:3-5

People should know more about what we stand for, than what we are against.

Just my thoughts…

+1

I was going to say “I am so stoked” about this next series, but Scott said that yesterday in his blog, so I guess, “+1”!

Fear keeps us from being all that God designed us to be.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18

Did I tell you that I’m so stoked about this series?

Couch potato

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10

God is giving me a chance to do that today!

Do you remember the movie "White Men Can't Jump"?

Well, I'm living the sequel entitled "44 Year Old Men Shouldn't Try to Jump Without Warming Up!"

I blew a calf muscle 4 minutes into our church league basketball game last night. Have to say, never done that before.

Being still…

One?

In my quiet time this morning I came across something really interesting. We teach all the time that disunity is a sin. I still believe that, but this passage struck me:

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, ^[a] they found a plain in Shinar ^[b] and settled there.

 3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

 5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

 8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel ^[c] —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11

Wow, it was their pride that caused God to bring disunity.

I started thinking about the church and wondered if the reason we have so much disunity (in the local church and in the whole body of Christ) is because of the pride of the leaders. My thinking has now changed. Of couse it is.

We as shepherds must fall on our face and confess Psalm 51.

The world wil know when we have unity. John 17:23

Just something to chew on…