New Campus, new challenges!

Well here we are, over 15 weeks at the new Hawk Creek campus and God is still amazing us weekly! Not just on Sunday but throughout the week. It seems that everywhere we look there are people hurting and in need of love, forgiveness and Gods grace. In fact, those same people have been our main reason for building anything at all. As we journeyed through the building process, we tried to keep in mind those families and individuals who were not even part of the faith family yet, but in time would hear the gospel and respond.
Like every new home, car or other items, the building still has that "new" feel to it and some people are overtly excited just to have a place that the sound system doesn't require set up and seats do not have to be rearranged weekly. The carpet still looks new, there are barely any markings on the wall and there are no permanent stains as of yet from Cletus dropping his coffee in Sunday school. But stains on the carpet or paint chipping are not the obstacles that we want to avoid. After all, if you're going to love on people, no matter where they come from, you are going to get dirty. The challenge that we face as humans is, that we don't become complacent!
It would be so easy to look back over the last year and say "Thank you Lord for the building and allowing everything to be completed. Since you brought us here, I think we'll sit down a while!" That would be a dangerous place to be...God did not allow us to build, only to finish the project and declare victory. A building project completed, does not a complete ministry make, and it is simply just another tool in our belt that we pray God uses to reach our community with news of Gods grace! We could say that now we have room, lets just chill out a while, but living the Christian life requires action, not just through a relocation process but throughout our entire lives.
What an opportunity to give God worship by simply standing firm in our commitment to continue working, serving, singing, and loving. I pray that God will give us extra zeal to keep moving, making a greater impact on those who are watching. Let our testimony be that we didn't stop to take a break, but that our joy was found in going forward to reach as many as we could with the gospel! In our perseverance, God is honored and our lives will be a testimony of worship to our great God!

God is not fair!

To live in a world that says everybody has to be treated equally and that we should do everything we do with the consideration of making everybody feel the same, it seems almost passe' to make the statement that God Is Not Fair! In fact, my own ears almost curled when I first heard somebody make the assumption that the loving, gracious and holy God that I have served for the last 20 years could be unfair. In my mind, the idea of God as unfair or not considerate equated to a un-loving or cruel God that I did not want to serve or worship, and didn't resemble the God I had developed in my head. We love to see God as the God of blessing, prosperity and giving, but what about those people who have spent the last decade in war torn, poverty stricken nations who cry themselves to sleep because they are starving and are not even sure that they will wake up when the do finally doze off? They don't know life any other way, or see that it could be better, like we do. What about those children who are sold into the sex trade without even being able to say no and end up brutally tortured and some murdered? How is it that I have been blessed to grow up with good parents, loving family, always having a roof over my head and food to eat yet many kids will never experience what I know as a normal life? Many times we shape and mold God into an idea that suits our fragile minds and allows us to still get all warm and fuzzy. We make God out to be a very "Americanized", version of who He really is. The fact is though that while Gods character is equivocally without doubt, love, grace, mercy and justice, it is not in any shape, form or fashion even close to being fair, at least not as we see fair. You can still be loving without being fair. You can still be love and serve justice, without being fair. If there are 4 kids on the baseball field, 2 who can really play and 2 that can not even catch a ball or run very fast. Lets say we put choose all 4 kids to play on our team no matter what their talent. While it might be fair to the 2 kids who cant play, just to make them feel good to be on the team, its not really justice because as a coach part of my job is to develope and manage a winning team. I havent served justice to my team sponsor, other kids, or parents by placing bad players on our team just so I can be fair. It would even be true to say that I averted justice by putting the kids who can not catch well at all by placing them in the outfield, only to be fair and allow "everybody" a turn. If the object is to win, and in most games it is, then I will play the best players at the best times in order to score runs and accomplish the win. When we come to the conclusion that God is not always fair, it will help us deepen our love and appreciation for who He is in our lives and all He has done for us. I don't know all of the whys behind God's choices, but I do know His motives are pure and that He has my best interest at heart. Accepting the idea that God is not fair will also cause us to worship Him more passionately! You ask, "Daniel how in the world would deciding that God really isn't fair make me want to stand up, shout and raise my hands to somebody who doesn't value fairness?" Take this into consideration... The fact that you are able to have access to the Internet, have obtained enough education to read this post and that I have written it in a free society where I am afforded the right to free speech, tells me that you and I have been shown much much more grace by God than we would ever deserve! Knowing this truth should kindle a deep fire inside of us that crys out to God just to say THANK YOU LORD! We have been allowed to hear the gospel, worship in comfortable church buildings, read a well printed, leather bound copy of the word of God. If God were really fair, and had given me what I deserved, I would have never heard the gospel more than once, and really not even once! If God were really fair, I would have been born with far less belongings, in the middle of a jungle somewhere never knowing what friendship or family meant, but that was not the plan! To God be the glory, that He blessed me to have the life I have lived and have been able to hear the gospel, accept Christ, and live out my faith! We should worship Him for not only the simple things such as breath and blessings but for allowing us, to be His child, serving Him and giving us the chance to serve Him and others! Is God fair? I don't think so, but it does not mean that He loves us less or wants to mis-treat us. Because God will always do what is right, and I can trust Him with everything I have in this life and all that will be, in the life to come! While God may not be fair as I see fairness, I do know that He is faithul and will always love and lead me for His glory and my good!

New Year, New ideas!

Today is the first day of the next decade! Can you believe that 1/1/11 is here? No doubt there will be some exciting and modern couple who will take advantage of the unique sequence and tie the knot in the morning or tomorrow night at 11am/pm. That will make thier wedding date be 1/1/11 at 11:11am/pm. Yeah that might be a little far but you get the picture. With a new year, usually comes new resolutions, thoughts and ideas. Along these same lines, I want to challange you to find new ways to worship and respond to God. There are many ways to express worship to the Lord, some of which you may have never even thought of or even tried. Think about it this way...God, who is very creative and loving, made you with personality, talent, and so many other traits, but how many times do we use these other "things" to worship or respond to God for His goodness? How many times do we try things, we never tried before to honor the Lord? Maybe you have never raised your hands in praise, or sang loudly. Maybe you only give the minimal and have never really given till it hurts. Maybe you have never been on a mission trip, but are ready to venture out. Whatever it may be, step up and be the kind of worshipper that God desires! One that is not afraid to be passionate and creative in the way you worship Him! Give financially till it hurts, and watch God provide! Lift your hands during that song that you love and sing to the top of your lungs to the Lord! Find that neighbor or friend that you have a hard time loving, and serve them as Jesus would! Whatever you do, do it with passion as unto the Lord! It's 2011...what new ideas will you come up with to worship and respond to our great God? Let's go all out and be "city shakers" with the gospel and truth that is found in Jesus. Let's sing Gods word, read Gods word, study Gods word and live out Gods word! Find that new idea, and lets get busy worshipping Jesus in this new decade!

Hope, Heaven and Holidays!

Thanksgiving is just the beginning...Actually, now it all starts way before Thanksgiving and keeps going strong till December 25th! What is it? You guessed it, the Christmas season has now branched out to include all of about 2 months, maybe a few more days. This time of year we find ourselves cooking, shopping, eating, traveling, charging our credit and did I say eating? We are going in every direction, and usually at the same time. We spend time looking for that perfect gift, wrapping it in just the right paper, and delivering it in such a way that even Santa would be jealous, but do we ever stop to think that this would be a perfect season to worship? Thanksgiving and Christmas are great opportunities to live a lifestyle in front of family and friends that shows them the importance of Christ in your life. Show them by being slow to anger when they make those comments that normally would make you open up a can of Christmas kick butt! Take a few minutes to read the Christmas story to your entire family and remind them what the season is all about. If its Thanksgiving, why not actually live out the name and give thanks openly for the great things God has done for you! Use every opportunity you can to show Christ and the difference He makes in your life and the life of your family, because in doing so you are worshipping God through being light. You are giving Him praise by leading others to be fully devoted followers of Christ. The hope that we posses should cause us to act and speak differently, especially around people who have no clue about what it means to be free and happy in Jesus. We have a place in heaven because of the one who stepped out of eternity and into time, as a sweet baby boy. Jesus came not so we could run up our debt to income ratio but so we could lift up His renown and shout His fame to all the earth. This holiday season, lets speak about, sing about and show others, that thanksgiving and Christmas are not just 2 days for a Christ follower but are more of a lifestyle to live out every day of the year!

Some things you cant do without!

What are some things you couldnt live your life without? I mean if you were going on a 2 year trip and and could only take 5 things with you, what would they be? In the physical sense, you might say tooth brush, underwear, ipod, blanket and a car. Maybe you would want to take your favorite candy, or cell phone, or what about pictures of loved ones or a shirt that you love to wear 5 times a week. Whatever the items are that you choose, they will no doubt be important to you and things that make you feel like you can make the 2 year trip without a problem. In the spiritual sense you might choose different things such as your bible, prayer, devotional book, worship, and your favorite worship music. Some of those things arent really a choice, because God has given us some of these tools to make our life better. Prayer being one of those things, that as a Christ follower we cant do without. There is one cheesy line but its actually true..."7 days without prayer makes one weak!" When we neglect to talk to God and worship Him by praying and spending time with Him, it doesnt fail to change Gods plan or mind, but it does cause us to be less like Jesus and rely much more on our on strength. So the next time you think you can make it on your own, or imagine what it is that you would choose on a dessert island, remember that some things you cant do without, and by choosing wisely, you can and will become stronger in your faith and thrive even in rough times!

Class Reunion vs Facebook!

I received an email back in the spring about an upcoming class reunion for my old high school class. Being the people person that I am, I was excited. Just to see how everybody had changed in 10 short years and finding out what they were doing in life. How many kids they have and if they married their high school sweetheart. I also thought that everybody in my class would share the same sentiment, but this was not the case. I started to ask around to see who was planning on going, and most had the attitude of "who cares...I am not paying $25 to go back and see people I didn't like in the first place, besides I already keep up with the ones I do like on facebook." This brought several questions to my mind, but the number one conundrum was, "Has facebook killed face to face contact?" In an age of technology, there is no doubt that such networking sites as Twitter and FB are very important! I use both on a daily basis to keep in touch with people, communicate vision and even keep track of some church family that are sick or hurting that might need a visit or call. The problem that presents itself is when we would rather drop an email or tweet a message than talk face to face. In fact, sometimes this is how we treat our time of worship with the Lord. We would rather give God just a few minutes rather than spend time listening to Him. God doesn't want us to check into worship on Sunday morning or our quiet time through the week with a mere status update and then sign off. He knows our entire history and the reality is, that he wrote our profile himself and knows our very heart and intentions. For me it is so hard to find time to spend just seeking Him and letting Him speak to me, but its a must if I want to be the best husband, friend or pastor that I can be. Speaking on a social level, even our friends deserve more than just a quick post on their page, they deserve a phone call and even a face to face conversation, if for nothing else, at least to encourage them and build them up. Even though our class reunion has been postponed (due to lack of registrations) I still hope to catch up with some of my old friends soon, and see whats going on and maybe even encourage a couple of them!

Work it up or wait for it?

Isn't it funny how we view Gods presence and worship sometimes? I mean we come into the music service and think that because we lift our hands, or sing loudly or even dance around, that God is going to respond and "send his spirit" in a special way because we have "convinced" Him to do so with our actions. When we think through this kind of theology, its not very biblical, and actually is very "cult" like. If the way to get Gods attention is through something that we do, or the entire service is focused on getting God to "move" then we have missed our mark! In fact, working up the presence of God or competing for His touch, is exactly what was happening with the prophets of Baal when Elijah encountered them at Mount Carmel(I Kings 18:16-39). They were not seeking the One true God, but were trying to get thier god to notice them. There was Gods man facing a showdown with a heathen group of people, needing only to ask God for His power while all the while, the prophets of Baal were shouting, cursing, even cutting themselves to get their God to move. How sad to serve something or somebody that would only re-act to you because of what you do for them, when our God has already did everything for us. Which is the whole reason that we come to worship together. The whole point of our singing, clapping, raising hands, dancing, shouting and celebration is to respond to what God has already accomplished through Jesus Christ His Son (Ps66)! We bring our best offering because He loved us first(Ps 136:2)! We do everything with excellence because He gave His best(John 3:16)! We dont have to work up the Spirit of God, because He lives in us (Jn 14:17), and wants to move and bless his people. He empowers us to live for Him, so that His kingdom will expand and those on the outside will know, its not about what you do, but its all about what He has done and continues to do in those who will trust Him!