Ahhh, Summertime...

Tuesday night we kicked off our summer Bible study series, Soul Food (Tuesday evenings through August 4th, starts at 6pm and includes dinner for $5). We had a dozen small discussion groups in the sanctuary and I gave each group a different chunk of Isaiah to study together. Honestly, I was a bit nervous about whether it would "work" -- whether conversation / discussion would flow. It could have been laborious (getting to know a group of people while chewing through a chapter of Isaiah is a big stretch...), but instead it felt so easy and fun!

That's the flavor everywhere in our church right now. Easy. Fun. Relaxed. The jazz classic "Summertime, and the livings easy..." has been running through my brain. While many of us are facing difficult situations, somehow God's grace is covering us... even if it's a bit bumpy.

Virtually all my favorite memories from childhood are when things went awry as we were on some adventure... which in the moment was stressful, but in the end became the highlight! Like when we went off-roading in the wilderness and got stuck and it took us a couple of days of piling rocks to build a ramp to get us unstuck. Or when we didn't pack enough food and actually HAD to catch fish to survive. Or when my brother forgot to pack a sleeping bag and was forced to share.

So if things get stressful, let's not get overwhelmed! Let's decide instead to enjoy being together and working together... then it will end up being easy, fun, and joy-filled. What made those moments as a kid memorable and fun was the camaraderie that developed as we tackled the challenge. If we had blamed one another for the problems or tried to solve the them by ourselves, it would of been a nightmare.

So let's take full advantage of the grace that God has on our church right now. It's not a time to sit back or be alone. Like being at the top of a water slide, this is a moment to lean in and enjoy the ride!

If you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:10-11

Total Sweetness

The other day I got a thank you note from one of the moms who sent her daughter to VBS. She included this photo of her daughter who had fallen asleep while reading her Bible (she promises that the pic wasn't posed... *smile*). Our theme this year was, "It's in There!" -- all the answers we need for life are in the Bible. I'm actually quite inspired by this little girl's totally sweet example... and jealous (in a good way) of the peace she feels.

I don't know about you, but my thoughts and feelings are so persuasive. When fear grips me, the verdict of doom is irresistible. I can spiral into a grumpy, depressed place for hours or days. When I think I'm right and others are to blame, my own logic can't teach me grace or patience.

But thankfully God has given a resource that's more powerful than my thoughts or feelings. When I choose to rely on them, His promises and instructions can secure me and guide me no matter how chaotic my thoughts, feelings, or situation. When I'm trusting and obeying His instructions, I get in on His peace, which defies all logic (Phil. 4:7).

I am praying daily that I would have more courage to reject my own thoughts and feelings and choose instead to rely on His promises and instructions. One of the lies that's been beating me up lately is that I'm not good enough, smart enough, holy enough... or *whatever* enough to do what God is asking me to do. I get no peace by trying to tell myself that I really am doing well. That just adds fuel to the fire...

The other day I came across Ezekiel 36:22-38, and I've been hanging onto it since then. In that section, God promises to do some incredible, miraculous stuff... But the part that really has my attention is where God repeats, "It is not for your sake that I am about to act..." (v. 22, 32). In other words, all the awesome stuff God is doing is NOT a reward for my good behavior. That's not a shameful condemnation... it's a hopeful promise! If the good stuff God is doing hasn't been earned, then it also can't be lost. I don't have to be good enough, smart enough, or holy enough... I just have to keep my eyes on Him!

Love is the Greatest Miracle

I've read stories about amazing miracles. I've seen some pretty amazing stuff that God has done, too (my own son was miraculously healed when he was a couple months old). That stuff is fantastic... We pray for miracles of healing, provision, and breakthrough all the time. However, the greatest miracle of all is love: when God takes a heart that is hardened by selfishness, fear, grief, pride, shame, and hurt and softens and heals it so that it can beat with compassion, absorb affection, and shout out joy.

Like the miracle of a flower blooming, this process often happens in quiet, almost imperceptible ways. A conversation here, a hug there, a decision made in a personal moment to think differently or to try something new. Hands are raised. Hearts are opened. And God in heaven does a little dance as we come to life in love...

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

VBS Monday: Creation Sequence

This was such a cool moment! I got goosebumps watching it live. The fact that God made the world and each of the kids' lives was totally new for many of them.

I had a conversation with a parent as they were dropping off their child in the morning, and they were telling me how grateful they were for this event. They explained that they had realized that their child had no concept of God or Jesus at all... they didn't plan to not teach their child, but that with all of the stuff going on in their life, they just hadn't gotten around to it.

These are the moments that the Truth that God made them, knows them, and loves them begins to sink into little hearts & minds... I am so grateful for all the hard work and creativity of the hundreds of volunteers who are helping to put this all together! Go God, Go Team!

How Long Will I Hesitate?

Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21

The thing I love most about VBS is that it's a chance to launch in with my whole heart. There's something about being surrounded by hundreds of screaming, jumping, dancing kids and adults that opens up a fresh possibility for my heart to enter into pure servanthood (working for others rather than myself), pure worship (working for God rather than myself), and pure joy.

Although I believe everything I teach, I still have areas of my heart that are so stubborn, so proud, and so selfish. Those parts of my heart hesitate to launch in to Jesus. Part of me likes to hang back in the shadows, evaluating and critiquing everything that's going on around me, rather than just going for it.

So if you see me this week jumping a bit higher, shouting a bit louder, and getting a bit messier than I have in the past, it's because I'm desperate! I want so badly to have Jesus cleanse my heart of selfishness, pride, and stubbornness. I want to get rid of the arrogance that makes me hesitate and second-guess with God. I want the humility and joy of a child (Matthew 18:3).

VBS Fast Day

They will be as mighty men,
Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle;
And they will fight, for the Lord will be with them…
And their heart will be glad as if from wine;
Indeed, their children will see it and be glad,
Their heart will rejoice in the Lord. Zechariah 10:5, 7

Today is our church's VBS Fast Day. We are praying for God to do the impossible. But it's not just up to God... He invites us to fight with Him! So we're rallying together to contend for the breakthroughs God wants to do.

There are hundreds of kids and volunteers registered. Each one needs a touch from God. Families are breaking apart, homes and jobs have been lost... the future seemingly unsure for so many. The desperation in our lives is palpable.

The enemy says that we don't have the time, energy, or money to pull off VBS. He speaks despair to tempt us to isolate in fear. But VBS is an opportunity to reject his lies and step into the battle for these little ones' hearts and lives. As we serve the kids, God will do the miraculous, empowering us to crush the enemy's hopelessness under our sweaty, dusty feet.

In the end, we'll be drunk with joy, and our kids will come to know God. Awwww yeah! That's going to be some serious F-U-N!!!

God Teaches Me to Lead

I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17

In lots of areas, I'm on a very steep learning curve. This goes without saying, but if I'm learning, that means there's lots of stuff that I don't know yet. Also, it means that I'm making a lot of mistakes.

I like to know everything and be fully qualified before I step into leading others... But that isn't God's pattern. He loves to promote humble people who have lots to learn.

One of the lies that comes at me is that since I'm making lots of mistakes, people would be better off without me... that somehow I'm going to mess things up to the point that I should quit while we're still all ahead. But this verse says that there is "profit," even in the learning curve. Other verses say it even more clearly (2 Cor. 12:9, Judges 6:14-16, Ex. 4:10-12, Phil. 4:13). The enemy is trying to get us to quit by making us feel like we have nothing to offer. While we don't have much to offer, if we offer it in Jesus' name, He can take it and multiply it (Matt. 14:13-21, Acts 3:6). These are verses I'm holding onto for dear life...

On the other hand, the enemy is also happy if we refuse to learn from our mistakes. He says that we are free to take advantage of God's grace and that there won't ever be any consequences if we continue to fail. This is also a lie (Rom. 3:5-8, James 2:26, Heb. 5:11-14, Zech. 7:11-14)! If the disciples made lots of mistakes in their learning process of becoming apostles, I should be willing to do the same. However, they eventually grew in wisdom and authority through the humble learning process. If I'm really changing, the same will be true of me.

While I don't want to write myself off for my mistakes, I also don't want to pretend that they aren't there or that they don't matter. I want to walk right down the middle of the straight, narrow path... Willing to learn and also willing to lead.