Future Glory

So in my daily readings today I came across a passage that brought me so much joy I thought I would share it.  Although I first must add my reading came in Jeremiah, it was a beautiful and extremely significant passage of freeing slaves, and then un-freeing them, and then God punishing the wickedness and allowing the Babylonians to destroy them.  But the passage in Romans gave me a lot to ponder for today.  Romans 8:18, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."  So often in our culture everything is about comparing things.  What does the new one have that the last one didn't, which car is faster, more horsepower, bigger? But I love this comparison that Paul is making, that it isn't even worth comparing.  That no matter what we are suffering through, no matter what struggle you are facing right now, that it will pale in comparisons, if you can even compare it at all, to what God has in store for us in Heaven.

What is going on here?

Seriously, what is going on here.  This past week is probably the week I have been most excited about Depth.  We have a lot of things coming up, a slew of ministry events we are going to do, new areas to serve and volunteer, and just really exciting stuff that I am completely amped for.  I was really excited for my message last night, good old Jacob the deceiver.  And then I get the phone call that April needs to go to the hospital.  I rush to my bride and head to the hospital.  As I am in my car I get a call from Pastor Kevin, (whose birthday it was yesterday).  his family was at Disneyland and his 2 1/2 year old daughter had a seizure while waiting in line to meet Aladdin and Jasmine.  For a moment I thought we might be at the same hospital... The great news is both April and Kasey are doing well.  April is once again on bed rest, and Kasey is back to her super energetic self, forcing Kevin to run and the house just to keep up with her.  So please keep us in your prayers.  But I look at these three occurrences and I cannot believe for a moment that they are a coincidence.  The week I share with the most people the future of Depth is the week 2 of the Pastors are rushed to the hospital for the women they love.  Thank you all for your prayers last night, God listened and answered with healing as neither of us had to stay in the hospital.  So please continue to pray for health and protection, and for the exciting things God has in store for Sunday Nights.

Faith & Endurance James 1:1-18

Before you read this devotion, take a few moments and think to yourself about when the last time something "unfair" or "inconvenient" happened to you that affected your daily agenda. Or maybe something that you feel guilty about doing or thinking about. Ok. Now lets see what James has to say about these trials. If you read James 1:1-18, he reminds us that there is a difference between trials and temptations. We need to make sure we don't get these confused with each other. You see, trials or "tests" are for building fortitude in the believer. God allows these because they are designed to bring about spiritual maturity and completeness. Temptation, on the other hand, is not from God. James makes it very clear that God never takes the initiative in "tempting" someone. You see, He allows us to be tested but cannot, by His very nature, test us with evil intent. When we are tempted to do evil, it is the consequence of yielding to Satan's enticements because of our own fallen sinful nature. That is why it is so important for us to stay connected with God and His word. We need to be equipped and ready to resist Satan's temptations and be able to rejoice in the midst of trials. (Matt 5:10-12)

Phone Features

So I have this new app for my iphone that I thoroughly enjoy.  What it allows me to do is setup phone calls.  So I can make it so that you call someone else on their phone.  Trust me I have had a blast with this feature.  I'll have two friends nearby and setup the call.  The first person picks up their phone and says, "Hello" the next person then proceeds to get a call and answers, "Hello".  It takes a moment for them to understand what is going on, they start blaming each other, then they look at me laughing and figure it out quickly.  But with great powers come great responsibility.  I thought to myself what if I have people who havent talked to someone in years call each other.  Or if two people are in an argument and refuse to talk, make them talk to each other. 
The more I thought about this, the sadder it made me.  Unfortunately many of us have a relationship with someone that we have no desire to talk to.  Now, yes, there are circumstances where it would be unhealthy to speak to someone, but often enough we have people that we have fought with and we simply refuse to speak to them.  My question to you this week is this, is there someone you need to make amends with? Is there someone that you havent spoken to, you're glad you havent talked to them, but you know the healthy thing is to speak to them.  My encouragement to you is to give them a call.  Don't wait for them to initiate the conversation, dont expect them to call first, because they screwed up. Take the first step and restore that relationship.  Imagine if God stopped speaking to use every time we hurt our relationship with Him.

Is That Okay?

Communion and Offering

The question was raised on Sunday concerning the offering box next to the cross and communion table and its "acceptability."  Regardless of personal feelings lets look into this a bit.  It goes against "popular" belief that offering/tithing is an act of worship.  Giving to God most certainly IS an act of worship.  Unfortunately the common Western view of tithes and offerings is one of duty.  Doesn't the notion of "duty" go against the liberating and freeing constructs given by God through Christ as the new covenant is ushered in and the old, that is the law and all its guidelines and regulations, is done away with?  Absolutely!  As believers in Christ, sons and daughters, and heirs by His blood, we are free from the limits of the law.  Tithes and offering are most certainly an act of worship.  When giving to God (that in itself might not be a present thought as many perceive it as giving to the church...but you're giving to God) it is as if you're saying, "you gave it to me, so I'm giving it back, do something great, regardless if it benefits me or not."  Thats worship, that screams nothing is mine, its all yours, you are ever present, magnificent, and glorious, and I want to see YOUR impact.

Concerning communion.  This act, by all means, is a serious one.  Truth of the matter is, our lives as believers is a serious thing!  Nothing we do should be done flippantly, for our lives are in fact an offering, and our lives are made an offering through the redeeming works of the blood on the cross and the work of the Holy Spirit.  It was simply, yet elegantly said on Sunday, 'that as we come to the cross we give our offerings.'  It is only by the cross that our offerings matter much at all.  It is by the cross that we have access to the father and are pardoned from, and overcome, our "God hating" flesh that resides in us, and by the cross that our offerings are not it vain.  The cross signifies our redemption because of the work of Christ, and because of His work our LIVES should be an offering.

As Genesis has begun to be unravelled we can clearly see that God is unbelievably clever.  Throughout the week challenge yourself to see His cleverness in and around everything.  Challenge yourself to glorify His name by cleverly and creatively living your life as an offering, doing ALL things to make His name great.  How many new ways can you see Christ this week, how many conversations can your actions and words create?  May we find ourselves daily at the foot of the cross with willing hearts of offering.