Regenerating Grace

Have you ever been reading The Bible and came across a familiar passage, and then upon reading it further and some study you find something in it that absolutely blows you away? Man, I read this and I about fell out of my office chair. This junk is SICK!!!

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come." (NASB)

Nothing new there right? Heard it a million times, powerful and life changing but we've still heard it all of our lives. But I decided to look it up in the Matthew Henry's Commentary. And when I did I read this, "Regenerating grace creates a new world in the soul; all things are new."

Ok, so it breaks it down right? This isn't the kicker but think about it a little bit. God loves us SO much, and cares SO much about our promises that He has given us that He is willing to forget eveyrthing from the past and make us new. ALL OVER AGAIN! In order to achieve the promise, we must be willing to sacrifice. (Hebrews 11:17-19) So in order to help us achieve our promises, and achieve the holiness we can achieve with and through Him, we are to be made new! I'm NOT THE SAME PERSON I WAS YESTERDAY!!

But here's the part that took me back: "regenerating grace"...WHAT? So I decided to look up the word "regenerating". I mean, I knew what it meant but I wanted to make sure. Here are the definitions I saw that were most relevant:
- to form again (ok, good one)
- to change radically, for the better (another good one)
- to restore to original strength or properties (HOLY STINKIN' COW)

Ok, so here's really what this verse is saying. You, by being YOU, have dilluted the original function and power of the cross of grace, but IF you will simply come to ME (Jesus) and let ME wrap MY arms around you, quit worrying about other stuff, the grace that I died for, will be restored to it's ORIGINAL strength and property.

The grace that raised Jesus Christ from the grave, the grace, that Saul later turned to Paul, was given after cursing and killing God's people and His name. The grace that Zaccheus experienced at his dinner table; the grace that Matthew the tax collector experienced when asked to "Follow Me". THAT will be restored to it's original strength or property. DUDE, that PUMPS ME UP!!! In order to restore grace to it's original property and strength SOMETHING must die. SOMETHING must pass away.Why? Because WE can't handle the true strength and property of real grace! WE can't understand, fathom, or grasp the reality of it all, but when we allow our flesh man to die, and the spirit man to take over, we CAN grasp it and restore it. SOMETHING must die and be "gone" in order for regenerated grace to become NEW in my life!

Maybe I'm a little behind, and maybe I'm the only one that this pumps up, but I'm telling you I'm jacked up today because of this. Grace can be regenerated in my life, by allowing there to be "less of me, and more of you." Holy stinkin' cow!I love regenerated grace!

Pack Rat

So, in the midst of flipping through the channels while attempting to fall asleep last night, I ran across a show, I don't even know the name of it. It was about Pack Rats. And this show was all about cleaning up the houses of these people. And man, if you could've seen how messy,dirty, and trashy these houses were you would be surprised! There wasn't 1 square inch of house that wasn't covered in "junk" or "stuff". These people would literally cry while trying to throw things out. It was as if they were asked to sacrifice their first child. It was crazy! I can't believe how they were acting. But, in the midst of that God began to show me some things.

How many of us are pack rats? Not a literal pack rat but a spiritual pack rat? There are so many people that are spiritual pack rats in this life. We take our emotional hurts, mental blocks, spiritual confusions, and we pack it way back in the back of our minds, and every time something happens, we bring that junk back up in the forefront of our minds. Whether it be something someone said, something that we did in our past, or something we allowed to happen to us; either way we have to learn not to be pack rats.

There is so much that God wants to do in our lives and most times the junk that we "rats" pack can keep us from accomplishing the supernatural things that God has in our future. "All things become new", "I am a NEW creation", "Be transformed by the RENEWING of our minds", "Focus on things above not the things of this world"...All of those things talk about one thing...DOING SOMETHING NEW AND DIFFERENT!! But, in order to do that sometimes we need to allow someone (God) to sort through our junk, keep the parts that can teach us something, and throw away the junk!

Don't be a spiritual pack rat let God make YOU new, and RENEW your mind. Don't let someone or something that happened in your past dictate your future. If we completely put our trust in God, and we get to the point of belief in God and who He created us to be, what could really be our limit? HEAVEN! (Thanks Nik)

What is YOUR junk that you've been packing, and you know that now is the time to sort through it and throw it out so that God can use us to our full potential. GOD is our helper, let Him clean us up!

Purposeful Pain

Reading 1 Samuel recently has completed rocked my world. I have a confession, I've always been pretty partial to reading New Testament books for some reason. Through some recent things, I've just decided to begin studying 1 Samuel and GOOD GRIEF it has ROCKED MY WORLD!!! I ran across some great principles today while reading chapter 12. Now, to be honest, I won't get it all out there because God is still helping me process a lot of it, but MAN it's solid stuff.

1 Samuel 12:8-11 is all about Samuel talking to Israel after the official confirmation of Saul as king. (Saul WAS ordained by God to take over, even during the rough times, in case you were wondering.) Samuel is talking to the Israelites about the trust that he has earned from them, then Samuel began to publicly remember some past times and experiences and Samuel begins to teach them a REALLY difficult and REALLY insane lesson. One thing I like about Samuel is that he was NOT afraid to tell it like it was!

He looked at those Israelites and reminded them of the time that Moses took them into the wilderness, and that God led them there, and God was on the front of their minds. Then Moses, through the guidance of God, found them a comfortable place and they settled there. Then the Israelites began to forget the God that kept them safe, and the vision that led them there! And they began to complain and completely forget about God! Then 1 Samuel says, "He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king Moab, and they fought against them."

Check this out: God noticed that HIS people, the Israelites, had completely forgotten HIS visions, HIS direction, and HIS love! Therefore, God had a nice little plan, allow them to be in a situation where they realized exactly how small they really are without HIM! So, when these tribes began fighting against them, they SUDDENLY realized just how small and weak they were without the power, and desire of God in their lives! So, they began to cry out to God for direction, help, and grace again.

Then, God did something else INCREDIBLE! He heard their cries and blessed. SO, they had FORGOTTEN Him, He REMINDED them, then He BLESSED them! Sometimes we FORGET, so we need to be REMINDED, in order for Him to BLESS!!! But check this out: How did He bless? He gave them the 4 things they needed (and we all need) in order to "live in security". (vs. 11b)

He gave them:

1- Godly Vision > Samuel, name means: "Heard of God"

> He gave them a man that is heard of God and in touch with the heartbeat of the Father!

2- Logic > Bedan: A judge of Israel

> Judges are pretty smart people, with a lot of logic

3- Leadership Ability > Jephthah, name means: Mighty Man of Valour, Breaker Through.

> He led Israel out of the oppression of the Ammonites. He was placed in a leadership position to help LEAD the Israelites. It was HIS decision to use his LEADERSHIP ABILITY to better himself, and help a hurting nation. (that'll preach!)

4- Fight > Jerubbaal (Gideon): Name given to Gideon because he defeated the altar of Baal.

> Jerubbaal saw an injustice, got sick of it and did something about it.

God sent the Israelites, after forgetting Him when they were in a COMFORTABLE PLACE NOT WILLING TO MOVE, 4 helpers to cover the 4 sides, so there was NO room for infiltration...

Look at this: To live a life of security with Christ, we must cover all 4 sides of our tribe (our hearts, our spirits, our minds, our families, our church) with these 4 characteristics.

They FORGOT, He REMINDED, He BLESSED!

(dude, that's INTENSE teaching there. Don't worry if it didn't make sense at first, God's still helping me grab it all too. If you didn't get it the first time, read it about 40 more times, God'll help!)

The Nehemiah Project

I just left Youth Quest 2009 in Greensboro, NC. I had the incredible privilege of being under the teaching of some of America's GREATEST pastors, preachers, and teachers. Steven Furtick, Ron Luce, Chris Hill, and the worship of Steve Fee. Not to mention the great relationships that were formed.

But, something began to turn inside of me during these meetings, that I didn't like. I began to feel a sense of anxiousness, or uncomfortable feelings. Why? Not because these guys did a bad job or said something that I didn't agree with, in fact they brought the HEAT, every single time! Then why?

That was the question I asked myself throughout the weekend, then Monday night (the last night) I realized and understood why. Simply because, the dream and passion inside of me began to twist and turn. Why didn't I like it? Because it had been a while since I'd really felt it MOVE!

I have a dream and passion to speak to teenagers by the thousands, and help them understand what a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ is, and to help them unlock explosive destiny. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL IT IS ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

So, again, why was that a bad feeling? Simply because it was inside of me, it began to move, and suddenly I realized something incredible...EVERYTHING that has happened and is happening is setting me up for the passions/dreams of GOD!

I realized that a man by the name of Nehemiah also had a dream and a passion that was placed inside of him at a young age and it hurt him to the core. There were times where he would push the dream and passion back and it wouldn't hurt anymore. BUT, there were also times when something would take place, or he would sit under some teaching/leadership that would MOVE that very dream/passion!

And Nehemiah quickly began to see something extraordinary...EVERYTHING that led him, big or small, to serve under the king, was setting him up to complete the dream/passion that God had placed inside of him. And Nehemiah was then, because of his obedience, released to complete BIG things under the name and power of the King of Kings!

But, just as Chris Hill said last night in his service, we need to go to Jerusalem and sit, until we receive the POWER! The power is in the timing, and the timing is the power.

I'm a person that dreams big, and a person that has a big passion. I'm currently a youth pastor, and will be for a while longer, I'm sure (God willing), but I have a lot of dreams, some of which have taken place, some of which will take place.

- Become a full-time evangelist

- Write a book

- Draw a picture for THOUSANDS of God lovers of what a God lover REALLY is

- Plant a church

- Become the best follower of God that I can be

- Become the greatest husband for my wife that I can be

- Become the most fun/incredible father in the world

- Become a mentor and leader to people near and far

- MORE...

I don't dream, wish, or desire these things simply because I want to be "famous" or "known" but because I believe God has given me a gift and a voice and the ability to relate to people in order to use.

I REFUSE to let ANYONE or ANYTHING take this away from me. As Satan will surely try to use whatever means necessary to take it away, I REFUSE to give it to someone or something that didn't give it to me in the first place!

I made a vow last night, God will always direct my steps, perpare my voice, and impart my knowledge. And I will begin taking steps even today, to begin working towards the passions/dreams God has placed in my life! Will you?

Doctors

1 Timothy 1:8-11 and Luke 5:31-32 are both parallel verses of scripture. Not only are they parallel but they are also incredible challenging.

What if I were to tell you that possibly, just maybe, what we know as church today isn't necessarily what Christ set it out to be.

See these verses have shaken my theology and way of thinking. After reading these something hit me, and hit me hard... what if what I've known and done for 23 years is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG? What if, just for fun, church today, as it is seen and portrayed is nothing more than a resting place for everything else?

These verses clearly relay a very important and incredible message: I (being Jesus) didn't come for those of you that know me, I came for those who don't! So, where does that leave the ones that do know Him? IN CHURCH! What about the one's that don't know Him? OUTSIDE OF CHURCH!

We've created a culture that believes that church is where you go when you are saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost. If you aren't all 3, don't come in until you are. What would happen if each and every church, would take ownership begin to work within the confines of the original church?

Imagine with me, just for laughs, that the church was this:

- An encouraging, inspirational learning place to come weekly with other believers to be FED.

- A place to come and equip each other to do the REAL work.. OUTSIDE of the church!

- A place that didn't care about HOW we reached people, as long as we did.

- A place of desire and passion that longed for the heart of God in order to touch the heart of people?

Jesus ran after and sought God with angst, and power, and might many times during his short stay on this Earth, all for one purpose, to touch the hearts of the lost, and connect them to the heart of the Father.

I don't believe when the church was established it was to be a holding tank of doctor's or a place for people that are perfectly healthy to come and be "hypocondriacts" who act like something's wrong, when if we would simply grab the POWER and RELEASE of God, those problems wouldn't be there anyway.

Church should be an equipping place, not an acting place. We should come here to equip and help others worship, learn, grown, and move... but at some point, it's time to stop arguing and fighting over petty things and get our butts out of our well-formed seats and DO SOMETHING!

I've grown up in church and been involvled in ministry for 8 years now. I've seen/heard/experienced a lot. But, what if, REALLY, church was just the tip of the iceberg?

I think we do an injustice when we make our members and our fellow people believe that the ministry and connection to God is done INSIDE the church, when in all reality, it should be done OUTSIDE the church, and discussed INSIDE the church.

When the Philistines set up to fight the Israelites, and the Israelites lost, the Philistines stole the Ark of God. 5 tribes later, they FINALLY got some divine revelation...if we aren't HONORING God, there is judgment. The Philistines didn't want the Ark in order to HONOR it, they merely wanted to HOUSE it. Judgment was cast for HOUSING, blessings were REIGNED down for HONORING!

My question is really simple for me and everyone else out there: What am I doing? Am I really seeking to work within the confines of the church AND outside of them? Or am I comfortable simply HOUSING the presence of God (Ark of God)? I believe people that are completely RUINED for God, can't help but think, THERE'S GOT TO BE MORE TO IT!

(by no means am I "slamming" or demeaning the purpose of church, I am simply understanding there is more than JUST church as we know it. I believe church is great and important, when connected with the heart as well)

Doing Things Differently

You know, in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain did something very tricky. He lured his brother, Abel into a field where he could murder and then bury his brother in the field, where he thought no one would know. He said "Hey, Abel, come here, let me know you this. Meet me out there." Then as Abel showed up, little did he know that his life was ending shortly after.

A lot of times, I believe churches and church people do that. I believe we will ask someone to come check out something great in our fields, meet us there. There's great worship, great preaching, great friends, come check it out with me! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS! And when they come to the "field" or the church, they are left out to dry, not knowing that in just minutes their lives may end. How will they end? They could be shunned, they could be frowned upon, they may not understand something, they may be asked to sit in another seat because "my family sits here every week". I believe churches have become people and places to HOUSE the presence of God rather than HONOR the presence!

What does that mean? That means, we like to come to church and get the goosebumps because the air conditioning is too cold (HOUSING), but when it comes to welcoming/caring/loving someone new or different it's a chore (HONORING). The blessings of God come when we HONOR, not HOUSE! See 1 Samuel 4-6.

I believe that we as a church need to come back together as a BODY not a denomination. We need to unify the means by which we all believe, Jesus Christ, and allow HIM to be our guardian and our love.

People say, "we can't be too seeker", "Atmosphere doesn't matter", "GOD is the draw"... which there are parts of each of those statements that I agree with, I also understand that Joe Blow out walking down the road that doesn't care about God isn't going to be drawn by God, he will be drawn by the HONOR of the presence, exhibited by the relationships, culture, and love in the church and the church people.

I believe we need to all realize one thing: Christianity isn't about perfection, it's about relationship! To have a successful relationship, it takes investment, intimacy, and sacrifice... 3 things I think a lot of us have forgotten. But I think God is calling us back to!

So what will I do? I will refuse to allow myself to simply HOUSE the presence, I will descipline myself to HONOR the presence. I refuse to be so stuck on a tradition that I can't see the importance of people, drawn together by the love of Christ! Whether that means a new song, a different atmosphere, or something else isn't up to me, that's HIS decision!

Never Let Go

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day "Dirtiest Jobs" and they were doing a show in Alaska. And as these cars drove on the ice, the ice would break and consequently the cars would sink. Well, somehow, they would be down there long enough for it to ice over, and then the DOT would end up having to remove these vehicles. They showed the process of the removal and it was really interesting.
As I began to think about this just today, I realized something. There's some of us out there who have dreams,passions, desires, and a "push" inside of us that maybe we had forgotten about. Maybe it's been buried or sunk for a while, and maybe it's time for the DOT to remove it.
Nehemiah has always been a great story to me. This guy, A CUPBEARER FOR THE KING, had a dream/passion bigger than him. And it would not let him go. He thought about it, prayed about it, eat/slept this passion, and he even cried about it. It was so noticeably "ruining" him that the king noticed and pursued a conversation with Nehemiah about this. When asked Nehemiah began to pour his heart out to the king, which in turned granted him permission and provided a way for him to accomplish his passion.
GOD removed from inside of him what had been festering and "baking" in his spirit for a while. One thing about it though, Nehemiah NEVER let his dream completely sink, he was just waiting for the right equipment to remove it.
WE (I say "WE" on purpose) need to make sure that our dream never gets sunk in an icy ocean. If it has been, we should "seek" so we can "find" in the frozen graveyard of dreams...