Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Catalyst of faith # 2

I was listening to one of my favorite pastors, Andy Stanly preach on catalysts of faith and he talked about the first two of five in part one.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=294380324

I was moved by the second in his list.

Faith is build with relationship.

This should come as no surprise to you of you are a Bible believing Christian.
We believe that God is a relational God so it speaks for itself that relationship is key.

At one point during the message he was talking about having people in relationship with our children, as they grow they will be influenced by those around them.

Who will those people be?

Will they be people whose values compliment yours as a parent?

You have a choice if you make it to bring people into your children's lives who will influence them toward Gods way.

By not choosing you by default choose to give influence to those your children hang out with or go to school with.

John Eldridge in wild at heart speaks of men growing up by accident, this is a reality that does not have to be.

The idea of intentional disipleship means that you do things that instill values as well as value.

This is what is behind the page ceremony. I wrote about a few weeks ago.

Who is influencing your children?
Is it people who you value and who value them?

When they are teenagers and they need someone outside the home to confide in will it be someone who loves them and shares your values?


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Discipleship

That's a big word this year in sunshine hills, 2012 is the year of discipleship.

I like to think of it as the year of intentional discipleship.

But what does intentional discipleship mean?

To me as a man I look back at my faith journey and I see key people who guided me and loved me. 

In the absence of being fathered by my dad I was mentored by different men in all different stages of my life.

Where would I have been today if I didn't have strong men who came along side of me and held me accountable, or gave me sound advice, or who cared enough to look me in the eyes and tell me that I was valuable. 

Jesus came to earth he came to where we were. He lived with us in our pain and in our struggles.  Then He discipled. 

If you want to be effective in discipleship it's not good enough to have a good Bible answer for someone's problem you have to live with them where they are. 

I don't know many people who are taking the idea of discipleship as I have described it and are living it out but they that are have caused me to adjust how I view this subject.

I don't think we can be who God wants us to be if we are not taking discipleship seriously and making it a priority in our daily lives. 

Two questions. 
1) Who in your life through their involvement changed the course of your life in a positive way? 

2) Whose life through your involvement is on a positive course change?

If there is no one whose life you are investing in to make a difference for the positive then pray about where God would want to use you and watch how He changes you and them in the process.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

the creativity killer



I have been struggling lately with the idea of what I want to do with my life and how that is going to affect how I influence the world.

Six months ago in my journal I wrote that I felt that I needed to let the creative part of me grow but the killer of that was TV. 

I love to write I get a lot out of it; it is how I process and its how I best express myself. It is in fact the thing that makes me feel alive. 
So why is it that I struggle so much with doing it more? Six months ago, it was TV and now guess what its TV. 

Its my creativity killer. 

I am not going to let another six months go by just to come back to the same place hence this blog. 

The fact that there is a battle going on inside me means that I have hope of being all that God has called me to be.

I know that I am not the only person who feels trapped by where they are and knows that there is more they should be doing and could be doing. 
Be brave my friend don't let what you were created for get killed by excesses or by apathy

Gods mercy is new very morning and his faithfulness is great. Lamentations 3:23

Today is a new day lets move today from where we are into where we can be just a little more.

Jesus said he would never leave us of forsake us even till the end of the age. Matthew 28:20. 

So with that in mind.

Is there something that stands in the way of you stepping out into your dream? 
It has no power over you. 

Is there something God is calling you toward?
Run to it.

Finally 
What choice will your next choice be and what will it open up into? 

"every right choice opens the way to ten more good choices and every wrong choice opens the way to ten more wrong choices."

I am excited friend because there is a new morning awaiting us and we have a faithful God who is with us.