Pause: Song of the Week #3

Tear Down the Walls – Hillsong United

What Faith is Not…

1. Faith is Not a Feeling. Feelings come and go. Sometimes you get the joy of great feelings in Christ, sometime the feelings just aren’t there. Sometimes, we get hung up on wanting certain feelings, but our hope is in Christ and his sure foundation, not the shaky foundation of feelings. Doubt is not the opposite of faith. Unbelief is. The real question is what you do with your doubts. Instead of letting your doubts drive to discouragement, let them drive you to Jesus and the new discoveries He has to deepen your faith.

2. Faith is not a Contract. Sometimes we make deals with God (maybe not not verbally or intentionally). We think if we pray, serve him, go to church, etc., He will open up doors and make things easy and wonderful for us. We’re often not asking for a lot, just one thing or two really important things that He could do for us. If He would just come through, we think we would be fine. And when it doesn’t happen when and how we want it, we feel let down by God. But God is God and we are not. If the only thing Christ gave us was forgiveness of our sins and eternity with Him, we would have enough to praise Him nonstop, 24-7 the rest of our lives.

3. Faith is Not About Us. We want God to be part of our story, but His plan is so much bigger. He wants us to be part of His story. It may seem like a subtle difference, but it’s huge. He sets the agenda and our job is to surrender all of ourselves to Him.

4. Faith is Trust. Simply put, faith is complete dependence on Christ and what He has done for you. Faith is following Him when you cannot see where He is taking you. Faith is holding on to the fact that Christ is holding on to you.

Pause: Epic Song of the Week

Each week Epic is highlighting a song to reflect on personally and reconnect to Christ spiritually.  In a world that is constantly in Fast Forward Mode, maybe what we need most is NOT to move faster…maybe we need to do most of all is PAUSE.

This Weeks Song: Lead Me to the Cross, Hillsong United.

Lyrics:

Stories from 30 Days with Jesus

We asked all those who participated in the 30 Days with Jesus, “Through the 30 days, how has God spoken to you, encouraged you or moved in your life? What have you learned?” Here’s what you said…

– I am hungry to hear what God has to say to me each day. I anxiously waited for those early morning texts. They will be greatly missed

– It’s nice to wake up and have a message from God.  Makes me remember to put Him first everyday.

– Every scripture and prayer was exactly what I needed to face each day! I had the strength to deal with each situation successfully.

Gungor is Amazing

A good friend introduced me to a band called Gungor. They are simply amazing. Great Sounds, incredible deep lyrics! Beautiful Things has been ministering to me BIG TIME lately. Even more than I love the honesty, I love the hope. Enjoy!

Sometimes You Have to Say “Whatever!”

The GenX Generation coined a one word phrase that summarized reluctant agreement and indifference…WHATEVER! If you were born between 1965 and 1980, you know like me the subtle difference between the valley girl “What-EVer!” and the under the breath begrudging compliance “whatever”.

Paul must have been a GenXer, because right between his teaching in Philippians 4 on how to have real peace and real contentment, he says “whatever” six times. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

What was his point? In the middle of any challenging situation, the real question is where are you focused. Are you focused on what what’s wrong or what’s right? Are you focused on what you don’t have or what you do have? Are you focused on your complaints or what Christ has given you?

God is still good. I will be thankful. I will focus on “the whatevers.”

REWIND: 7 Questions to Reflect on 2009

“IN 2009, WHAT WAS…”

1. …Your best memory?
2. …Your biggest joy?
3. …Your biggest regret?
4. …Your biggest learning?
5. …Your new learning about Christ?
6. …Your best moment with Christ?
7. …The greatest risk you’ve taken for Christ?

BONUS: TWO MORE

8. How has Christ answered prayer in 2009?
9. How has Christ changed you in 2009?

Some people think prayer is reading off a laundry list of things you want God to do for you. Nothing could be further from the truth. Prayer is so much more than sharing your needs with God….it’s an ongoing conversation with Christ about your life. It involves confessing, reflecting and allowing the Almighty into your everyday experiences. So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1-2

You Asked For It…Week #1

You asked some great questions last week. Here are the verses from the answers.

1. Can you Trust the Bible?

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God and the Foundation for life.

2. Why Hasn’t Jesus Physically Come to Earth for 2000 years?

And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Matthew 24:30-31
Also Hebrews 9:26-28

3. How do You Recognize God’s Voice?

His sheep follow him because they know his voice…My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:4, 27
1. God’s method of speaking Varies
2. God’s voice often seems Inconvenient
3. God’s voice is always consistent with the Bible
4. God most often speaks to those who are listening

4. When we are told to “worship” God, what exactly does that mean?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1
Be a 24/7 worshipper

5. If you accept Jesus as your Savior, but spend your life going your own way, ignoring God will you still go to Heaven?

See Matthew 13:18-23
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left. Hebrews 10:24

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

30/30: Anticipate the Change

Are you following Christ with authentic spiritual passion or are you just wearing a T-Shirt?

Peter and Andrew woke up one day as fisherman and ended the day with a passion to go where Jesus would lead them. What would cause them to make that change? They weren’t invited to join a religion. They weren’t invited to obey certain rules. They were invited to follow Christ. And in following Christ, they found their true identity and the life they were created to live.

Matthew 4:18-22 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

In Jesus, Peter and Andrew …
1. Discovered their True ID

You are Chosen
You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit. John 15:16

You are Loved
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day–our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear: I John 4:16-18

You are Accepted
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1-2

You are Valued
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

You are Significant
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Eph 2:10

2. Were invited to go on a Journey filled with expectation

3. Left there nets and their false identity and began a new future with new ID, their true ID.

Are you living your life off the words others have said about you or are living life based on your true ID in Christ?

New Series@Epic: I Became a Christian & All I Got was this Lousy T-Shirt

Are you…
• Tired of a plastic and unengaged faith?
• Feeling empty and bored from religion?
• Looking for a real spiritual adventure?

If you’re serious about trading in your souvenir religion for authentic spiritual passion, join us for this life-changing series. We will lose the T-Shirt and discover true adventure of following Christ.

March 8 Anticipate
March 15 Hungry
March 22 Glow
March 29 Run
April 5 Alive

My Review of the Vince Antonucci’s Book of the Same Name