Fuge Reflection

I preached a couple of weeks ago about how Jesus is ALIVE . . . and has made the way for us to live in the Light and not the darkness . . .



"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col 1:13-14)



And how we must 'resettle' our lives in the Kingdom of Light . . .



"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him . . . Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col 2:6; 3:1-2)



At Student Camp last week I failed. Miserably.



I was tired (4-5 hrs of sleep a night - and yes, Cindy took this pic of me as I was dozing in the cafeteria), dirty/sweaty, in a wicked smelling room, way out of my element w/900 wired teens, and the food was . . . camp food . . . and did some permanent intestinal damage :)



But the point is that when I got out of my 'comfort zone' I began to get selfish and irritable. I started to focus on John and somehow recovering some of my desires and dignity.


And then God reminded me: 'It's NOT about YOU!'


That's always a bummer to hear.



I was reminded that I really know nothing about the suffering that Paul talked about in Colossians (1:24-27) and elsewhere . . . until I get out of that place of comfort and security and see what's inside. It wasn't good.



But now, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity. By Day 3 I had to agree, 'OK, God this isn't about me. It's about You and these students. Now you gotta help me!'



It didn't really make it a lot easier physically, but it helped me to retrain some of my focus on God in the midst of everything, and move maybe a little more towards Him -- and what it really means to deny myself and follow Him.



As I took my eyes off myself, it also gave me an opportunity to watch and see how God was moving in the student's lives . . . Wow!

And it makes me want to live more of my life in the Light . . .

Help me God to keep my heart - and my mind - on things above . . .

In the Zone

If you're a baseball fan you may have heard about what University of Texas pitcher Austin Wood did in the NCAA baseball tournament this past weekend.

If you're not a baseball fan you probably wouldn't even of cared if you did hear.

What he did was nothing short of incredible. In relief he pitched 13 innings of a 25-inning game against Boston College (the longest NCAA game ever!).

13 stinkin' INNINGS! 169 pitches! The first 12 1/3 innings he pitched without giving up a hit! 12 1/3 innings!

Let me give you a little perspective . . . An entire game is normally 9-innings, and for a guy to throw a 'no-hitter' (give up no hits) for an entire game at this highest level of college baseball in the NCAA tournament, is probably a once in a decade thing. And he did that -- and then 4 more innings without anybody getting a hit!
And I can tell you from experience - I pitched against Texas in college at Disch Falk several times - and never went more than about 12 PITCHES (much less innings) without someone crushing a ball and nearly decapitating one of our fielders :)

Incredible! He was as we say in athletics . . . In the Zone.

Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire talked about being In the Zone when he said: "I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure."

Now . . . here's my point. I think it's great that Austin Wood pitched 13 shutout innings (Not that I really care that UT won :) --- But I believe that God has made us ALL to live In the Zone!

I believe that He has called YOU to do something great AND eternal! But we don't just accidentally wander into the greatness zone.

We find it as we seek to know God more through His Word . . .
As we are still enough to hear His voice . . .
And as we are open to God possibilities and willing to take great risks to get there . . .

Baseball is awesome, but few folks have been built for baseball greatness. All of us who live with 'Christ in us' have been built for eternal greatness!

What's in You?

Check out this video . . .




'Christ in you, the hope of glory!'

Think About This Today . . .

"The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do." (A.W. Tozer)

Like you, I can become so discouraged because it seems that some things continually plaque me . . . but Tozer encourages me to take my eyes off myself, that it's really not about me . . . it is 'Christ in me the hope of glory!' (Colossians 1:27)

Matt Beveridge Update - 6-17-08

Matt had his transplant yesterday (Monday) and even after a week of radiation and chemo, and then the transplant was feeling good. Praise God!

You can check out the update on his website here . . . And post a note of encouragement in his Guestbook here. (Last post on Matt here.)

Keep praying and believing!

"So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom. . . . We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light." Col. 1:9, 11-12

Christ in you, the Hope of Glory - Pt 5

"Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Glory! That's one of your grandparent's religion words, huh. Especially when we say: 'Gaaaaalawary!'

It's one of those words that unfortunately we have covered with some dirt.

Excavation: In my sermon Sunday, I talked about the Israelites fumbling the Ark to the Philistines (And the Ark was the place of God's manifest presence in Israel - see 1 Samuel 4 for the story).
And how in that misery the daughter-in-law of Eli (the priest) named her child Ichabod.
'Kabod' in Hebrew meant glory. 'Ichabod' meant 'no glory.' Zip. Zero.

God's 'kabod' was what was in store for you when you experienced His very presence. (see Exodus 24:16 or 33:22; or we even sometimes say about someone: 'I saw him in all his glory.')
Ichabod's mom was saying that the manifest presence of God - and all that implies - is gone.

BUT HE is here! In you! You see it's not like as followers of Christ that you get this little 'A' battery of God inserted into your soul - just enough to keep you going. His 'GLORY' - and EVERYTHING that goes with it IS LIVING inside of you man!!
Kind of brings a new meaning to the kid song: 'This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine . . ." That's a stinkin' 50 mile lighthouse spotlight, not a pretty little Martha Stewart candle!

And just like the 'glory' of God is unfathomable for our finite selves - the ways in which He can come alive in you is unfathomable!

What are you gonna do with that? The GLORY of God. Christ in you. In you!

Christ in you, the Hope of Glory! Pt 4

Christ in you, the hope of glory!

Hope. Someone has said that you can live 40 days without food, about 5 days without water, around 5-8 minutes without air, but only a few seconds without hope. I mean really live!

If someone watched your life today and chronicled how you invest your time, what gets the attention of your checkbook, how you relate to people, and even if they could see into what occupies your thoughts - what would they say that your hope is in?

"Larry Damerval is an amazing father and husband who spent his days working for an energy company as an accountant, living a "normal" life. Little did he know how quickly things could change. Now he's suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease. At only forty-two years old, he has been told he could die at any time. Despite his diagnosis, he is doing everything he can to make each and every moment count."

If you have the courage to think about your life . . . and your hope . . . I encourage you to check out this amazing video - Larry's video.

Why do we tend to put our hope in so many other things? What are the trade-offs we make in our life when we hope in anything besides Jesus? Let us know what you think?

Christ in you, the Hope of Glory - Pt 3

"Christ in me, the hope of glory!"

Notice the order. Christ is first. Me (You) brings up the rear.

I was still a new Christian on a mission/baseball trip with Athletes in Action (part of Campus Crusade for Christ) in the Summer of 1986 when I was first confronted with the truth that I had a choice about how my life would be lead. A choice that would have HUGE ramifications.

Even as a Christian I could choose to live with Christ having a peripheral existence in my life and ME (self) perched on the throne of my life. OR, I could - daily - put Christ on the throne of my life. Let Him drive!

The DIFFERENCE is a Christ-directed life that is full of abundance and victory.
OR, a self driven life that is characterized by guilt, heaviness and loneliness. Everyone of us who is 'in Christ' continually makes this choice. (And I encourage you to check out the same truth that directed me that Summer found here in Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the Spirit-Filled Life?)

I was with some pastors recently and we were talking about this verse ('Christ in me . . . ') after I told them what had been on my heart.

Bubba Stahl (Pastor at First Baptist . . . & for the record Bubba is a Godly and Wise man! Not to mention a cool guy! I praise God that he is one of the spiritual leaders in our City!) . . . began talking about John 3:30 where John the Baptist said of Jesus, 'He must increase and I must decrease.'

Now, in the past when I've been confronted with that passage I've gravitated, as many of us, to 'I must decrease.' I must rid my life of selfish thoughts, and my impure heart, and my unholy attitudes. And as some of that can be true, it can also still just be about me! Bubba pointed out that it says FIRST that Christ must increase!

We must focus first not on 'me' and fixing 'me', but on Jesus! And as we focus on Him and are filled with Him, He will squeeze 'me' out! As He comes to occupy the rooms of our lives, 'me' will fade away in the glory of Jesus.

That's my heart folks! That it would be about Jesus and not us! Let us know, how you are focusing on Him, and allowing Him to increase?

Christ in you, the Hope of Glory, Pt 2

"Christ IN me, the hope of glory!"

I've never been pregnant, but I've watched real closely as four different aliens invaded my wife's tummy (2 at one time! See pic . . . and, No, I never really wore glasses that were that dorky, those were goggles to make sure no alien juice got in my eyes!).

I can remember watching with incredible awe as those aliens twisted and turned and kicked, and the two even wrestled, all while being IN Cindy's belly! Amazing! I wonder if part of the reason God does it that way is to give us a glimpse of the spiritual in the physical.

Unlike in the Old Testament when the Spirit of God came upon or over people for a season to empower them . . . as a follower of Christ, the Spirit of Christ now resides IN you. Think about that a minute. Just as real as a child in a mother's womb, the presence of God lives IN us!

This is one of the coolest verses in the whole bible: "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as He raised Christ from the dead, He will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you."

Wow, did you hear that! (And if you really want to get a taste of this power read all of Romans 8). He will give you LIFE!

Where do you need to be raised from the dead? What relationships or hopes or dreams have you allowed to begin to die? What fears or anxieties are killing you?

You can choose today whether to allow those things outside of you to control your life - or to allow the Spirit of God - Christ IN you - to give you life!

Tell us about how God is speaking to you?

Christ in You, the Hope of Glory - Pt 1

In Colossians 1 the apostle Paul says that there is a 'mystery (or, 'secret') that has been part of God's plan and is now being told to those who follow Jesus. This secret is: '"Christ in you, the hope of glory!"

As I've expressed to Creekers over the past weeks, I believe that this is the secret that He wants to use to unlock His fullest expression in our lives . . . and our church.
I want to take a look at this truth over a few posts.

'Christ.' The first thought. It begins with Him.

Jesus is the Alpha & the Omega. The First to rise from the dead. The Beginning and the End. The head over every power and authority. The First and the Last.

And God jealously desires to be first in our lives.

If you're a follower of Jesus, He will even allow whatever else you put before Him to taste like poo poo. If you don't believe me check out Philippians 3:8 in the Message (and yes, that is the literal translation!) He does so because He wants you to know that the abundant life is ONLY possible when He is first!

What first comes to your mind in the morning? Where do you first turn when you're out of money? Who do you look to first when you're frustrated?

Why do we go anywhere else? It all begins with Jesus being first in our lives.
Ask Him to be first . . . Your first thought of the day. Your first ally in the battle. Your first high-five in victory. Your first hope when life gets tough.

What are your thoughts on Jesus being first?