Highlighters

"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too... [awkward silence] But I guess that's why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."

-Rich Mullins speaking to Wheaton College

Just Right

I just went and bought donuts. I like them. That's irrelevant....except that while I was waiting to pay for my two donuts, I glanced at the magazines around the register.

This is what I want you to hear. Are you ready?

YOU ARE PERFECT JUST LIKE YOU ARE!

Did you hear that? It's a message that you don't hear often.......or maybe never. And I think it's one that you need to hear more.

Now let's be clear. We all sin. We all screw up. The Bible is clear that none of us are without fault.

BUT the Bible is also very very clear that God made you. Not only that, but he created you with a purpose. No one but you can live the life that God has called you to.

Think of it this way. You're an engineer (the kind that designs things not the train kind). Your job is create a gizmo called a "Splitzerslamer" that will do this one really cool thing that'll make the whole factory work better. Now being a good engineer you know that the only thing that's going to really work is the Splitzerslamer.......you can't put in a Gniftygloob and have it work. The Gniftygloob is shiny and pretty looking though. Who wouldn't want to have a Gniftygloob in their factory? But the Splitzerslamer is the only thing that'll fit.

Here's what happens. We're told all the time that we're not pretty enough, athletic enough, smart enough, fast enough, sleek enough, we're not SOMETHING enough. The problem with that thinking is that......who is? God tells us that no one is perfect. So who is that we're comparing ourselves to? It's all an illusion.

I talk a lot about God having a purpose for your life. Do you know why? Because everywhere else you are being told that the only purpose you have is being like someone else. We are all so focused on trying to be something that we are not, that we've lost touch with what God wants for our lives.

In God's eyes you are a Perfect 10. Just like you are. With your freckles, zits, greesy hair, no hair, unibrow, whatever! You are You and that's beautiful.

Dove recently made this cool video. "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted"

Love

"It's the fear that His love is no better than mine"

I've been an Andrew Peterson fan from the second I heard one of his songs off his first major album years ago. I just liked the way he crafted songs. The other day I was driving in the car listening to an album I've listened to 100's of times. All of a sudden the line I quoted above. Now I know that I've sung that line along with the recording tons of times but all of a sudden I was paying attention to it.

What kind of trouble would this world be in if God's love was no better than the love that this faulty youth pastor has? I am afraid to even think.

I don't love people like I should. I have this puny human brain. I get angry with people. I get frustrated with people. I don't understand the decision making of people. I'm impatient.

Ok Aaron, but those are people that everyone has a hard time with. But let's be honest here. I'm not a perfect husband or father either. I get frustrated with my son because he needs something but he can't tell me what it is. I know this'll come as a shock to you, but sometimes my wife and I argue about things!

God's love is so good. He loves those people that frustrate me as much as he loves me. Not more.....but not less either. God doesn't see a scale. His desire is that EVERYONE would recognize their sin and repent and come back to Him.

On so many levels it's a good thing God is God and I am not.

Vigorous Peace

I heard a pastor on the radio the other day giving a benediction. He was praying the Peace of Christ on the listener, then he said this......"..but may that peace be a vigorous peace...."

That stuck in my head. I've been chewing on it awhile.

I've always loved the description of God as the Prince of Peace. My life is usually pretty busy. Hectic even. So for me God being the Prince of Peace is a great metaphor that I can wrap my head around. A Prince of Peace is a God that I can run to when my world is crazy and I can rest in the comfort that only He can provide me.

Vigorous Peace. That conjures up some other images though. Peace is calm. It is relaxing. How can it be vigorous?

What the pastor was illuding to was this....as Christians we find that true peace can only come through Christ. But once we really understand and experience that peace, you become excited and want to make sure everyone around you has that same peace.

Let me put it to you this way.....if you knew that a car dealer was giving away free sports cars to anyone who walked onto the lot.....first of all, you'd probably run over there to get yours. But after you got yours, wouldn't you call someone? A friend? A relative? A neighbor? Heck some of us would probably go downtown and yell it in the streets. That what the pastor was talking about when he said vigorous peace.

It's like we find peace in Christ but we can't just sit there relaxing on our butts because we found the peace. We find peace in Christ and that peace is so amazing that someone else needs to know about it.

It's still hard for me to put those two words together.....but there you have it. Vigorous Peace.

Quick quote

I'm preparing to speak next week at WCCS fall retreat in Oil City. I"m a bit nervous to be honest. It's a pretty big responsibility to speak 5 times and have all 5 things be somewhat related. Keep me in your prayers. ANYWAY.....as I've been preparing my messages I came across this quote and I wanted to share it ahead of time because it rocks.

"a rebel attempts to change the past; a revolutionary attempts to change the future."


You are revolutionary. We are not out to start a rebellion, we are out to change the future!

Never changing

I'm listening to a cool cd. You may not like it. It doesn't rock hard, it's not rap. It's a worship CD....a really really good one though. It's Tim Hughes who is the guy who wrote Here I am to Worship.....but that was his first cd....i'm listening to his second...

ANYWAY....the song I'm listening to is talking about how God is good to us and he is unchanging. I like that word. Unchanging. That's hard for our puny human brains to wrap around I think.

Here on earth everything is changing....at least a little. Plants die. Trees fall over. Clouds move and change shape. When you fly a kite, one minute you have a breeze the next minute it's gone. People disappoint us because they change their minds. People die. Even rocks wear.

Have you ever seen a rock that's been in a stream for a long time? I'm not talking about the smooth ones....those are a dime a dozen. I'm talking about the ones that are like rippley because the flow of water has to go over them a certain way. That's cool. But they weren't always like that. At one point they were big and round or pointy or something. But over time they wear.

Everything changes. God is unchanging. Before time began He was. When everything is gone, He will still be. Before the beginning of time, He loved me. He loved you. He knew who we would be. His love has wavered for one minute....for one second in all that time. How many time has someone let you down? How many times have you been disappointed by someone? Maybe not even intentionally. I try as best I can to be the best husband that my wife could ever ask for....but the fact of the matter is that I'm just a silly man. I make mistakes and I make her angry or sad or whatever from time to time.

Throughout history we have turned our back on God. And yet when we realize how dumb that is, and we come back to Him, He welcomes us with open arms.

Unchanging. WOW UNCHANGING!

FIRE

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn." -John Wesley