Vision…

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint and are discouraged… ~ Prov.29:18a

Vision is bold. Vision is forward looking. Vision is also terrifying at times as it reveals future quests and directions. Yet without vision our way is lost and we will become discouraged. So it is in our lives as followers of Jesus. We can lose vision in our walk with Him. We can become discouraged when we lose that forward looking revelation and begin to settle into the mindset that deceptively tells us that everything as it is now, will remain that way forever. A life without vision, without that prophetic insight from God, can lead to much frustration and discouragement and leave us wondering and wandering.

Where do we find such inspiration? God’s Word is chock full of it. Vision, hope, future, plans, insight, wisdom. It pours from the Book’s pages. And if we’ll allow it, that pouring will find it’s way into our hearts, giving us fresh and full inspiration. But don’t think I’m talking about this on an individual level.

Do Likewise

I am currently in San Diego, CA for the Zondervan National Pastors Convention. Last night I had the amazing privilege of listening to one of my favorite authors, Shane Claiborne (Pictured right). Shane’s book “Irresistible Revolution” is a must read. All I can say is WOW! I love this guy!

The main of Shane’s talk last night was not something he hasn’t said at least a dozen times before… “Love your neighbor as yourself. This means you don’t let your neighbor starve while you have more than you need, etc.” But I continue to be amazed by how it flows from such a genuine heart. He lives this out, we should too.

Spirituality

It’s an interesting thing to consider, but in many ways the western church has stripped our faith of it’s spirituality. What do I mean by that?

Certainly we understand that to place our faith in a God who is spirit (John 4:24), implies this walk of faith to be one of spiritual origin. But we have somehow limited our expression of this spirituality to the time when we gather as an assembly on Sunday mornings. In many ways, we have forgotten that our faith requires us to take this new spiritual lifestyle with us everywhere we go. We need to develop new spiritual disciplines in our lives that will draw us deeper into God and help us appreciate Him all the more (Psalm 145:5 ESV). Things like prayer and personal meditation, contemplating verses in the Bible (also known as Lectio Divina).

My 2009 Reading List

Each year I try to stretch my mental horizons by reading books on various subject matter. I try to look for opportunities to grow in my leadership role, who I am as a Christian, stretch my theological perspectives, and challenge myself in the area of relationships. So far, this is what I have for 2009 in no particular order (if you’re interested)…

The Keys to Passionate Lives

Passion… Sounds tempting. Sounds exhilarating. But it also sounds like an unachievable pipe dream to many. I’m not talking about romance or sexuality, I’m talking about real passion. Passion that drives your life, that adds meaning and vibrance to daily living. Many are looking for this type of passion, but life has a way of draining it from our lives, doesn’t it? Where does it seem to go? How can we get it back?

I would first challenge that passion flows from our passionate Creator. The depth of our passion in life will only flow as deep as our connection to Him. So then the key to passion is connecting with our Creator. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? In many ways it is. But too many times, life’s overcrowded, busy nature seems to skew our focus on connecting with the loving, passionate God we were made to connect with.

The Rhythm of Prayer

Well, we’re already closing the first chapter of the new year. January is about to pass. I wonder how many of our “New Years Resolutions” will be doing the same at the end of this month? I make resolutions every year. I think they’re healthy. It challenges us to grow, to stretch, to reach beyond the rut we settled into last year.

I made a couple of resolutions that will remain a mystery to you with the exception of one. I really want to challenge myself in the area of prayer. I want to come back to the understanding of how mystical and amazing it truly is. And I want to develop a rhythm in my life that marches to the beat of regular intervals of prayer.

Thankful Thursday

What an amazing day Thanksgiving was! I had the incredible privilege of heading down to Hampton Park and joining a dozen or so other churches acting as one united body of Christ as we all locked arms to reach out to the needy.

Gordon Cashwell of Hope Assembly of God has organized a non-profit called Without Walls (www.withoutwallsministry.org) that is focused on bringing churches together to share the love and compassion of Jesus with those in need on the Downtown Charleston Peninsula.

Firey Trials

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. ~ 1Pet.4:12 (ESV)

Looking around the country (and the world) right now, it’s easy to assume that many people are going through some pretty difficult times. And as we discussed on Sunday, if you’re not going through it right now, don’t worry… It’s coming. All facetiousness aside, it’s true. We are probably either experiencing some pretty difficult circumstances in life right now, or we can be sure that in the future, we will.

Not the best news, I know. Not the most encouraging message. But it’s one our Lord repeated Himself as did His followers and authors of various books in the Bible. Why? Because it’s real. It’s honest. And it’s probably not a shocker to anyone reading this now. IT happens (pun intended).

Participation

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” - Acts 2:42 (ESV)

This is one of those verses that stirs my heart. It’s my heart for our community of faith at The Crossover, as well as for the greater Body of Christ. This very concisely describes the “feel” of the first church. It shows us very simply what everything else was spring-boarding off of as they continued to grow as a church.

But one word in this verse, I believe, gets overlooked or misunderstood. It’s the word I highlighted in bold lettering… Fellowship. In the original Greek it is the word koinōnia and it means, “participation or sharing” and included the sharing of material goods.

Extravagant Generosity

This last Sunday we looked at the issue of generosity and how, like the first church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:44-45; Acts 4:32-32), the church in Antioch began to exude generosity and care for others. What was even more amazing was the context of the generosity. The church in Antioch had just learned that crippling famine was going to spread across the world. They were going to face difficult times, no doubt. But in that context, they didn’t turn inward, but showed true compassion for others.

Their first response was not, “Oh no, how will WE take care of OURSELVES!” But instead, “how can we take care of those in a tougher position than ourselves?” The church in Jerusalem was under heavy persecution and these disciples in Antioch were only in Antioch because they had fled from Jerusalem. They knew firsthand what was happening there. Now the thought of those still in Jerusalem dealing with life-threatening persecution on top of facing severe famine was more than these believers in Antioch could handle.