#My500Words – Page 3 – Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, Encouragement, Preaching, Writing

Tattoos, Rock Music, and Relationships: Are You On Mission?

I’ve written about it a few times in the last couple of weeks because it is something that is completely changing the way I look at the world. It’s something that I’ve actually known for a long time, but my perspective is changing. In other words, it is becoming more real to me than ever before. Instead of just “head knowledge”, I am starting to see real world application for my own life…and it’s a game changer.

I’m talking about our current sermon series that we are going through at Central Christian Church. I wrote yesterday in part about the idea that you never learn more than when you are actively trying to teach something to someone (read that here). And that is what is happening to me right now. We are going through this series that I pray will be a game changer in the lives of our faith family, but it is definitely changing me. It’s called Life on Mission (based off of the book Life on Mission by Tim Harlow) and you can check out recordings of this series here if you’d like.

The basics of the series up to this point is this; if you are a Christ follower, you have a mission of sharing Jesus with others, that should be done by building relationships with new people (having a meal with someone new is a great start), finding a way to serve those people (because you truly care about them and they are not just a project to you), and then, once you’ve built that relationship, start sharing your story of how Jesus has impacted your life. That’s where we’ve gone so far with two more sermons to wrap it up.

I want to try to live out what I have been teaching/preaching, and am actively trying to figure out ways to start getting to know people in my neighborhood that might not know Jesus yet. As a preacher, I am generally around Christians for the most part, so I have to put effort into finding non-Christians to interact with.

I did something yesterday that reminded me that I already have the beginnings of friendships/relationships with people outside of my normal sphere of influence that I didn’t even think about. I got a tattoo to help represent what I am all about and what I call myself. You realize my nickname on here; Crosseyed Jesus Freak. Well, I finally got “Jesus Freak” tattooed on me. Actually, I am surprised that I didn’t get this one earlier. “Jesus Freak” by dc Talk has had a huge impact on my life and how I want to show my faith to the world, so it is a natural idea to me to have it in my tattoo collection.

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Here is the chorus of the song, and why it means so much to me:

What will people think

When they hear that I’m a Jesus freak

What will people do when they find that it’s true

I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus freak

There ain’t no disguising the truth

The truth for me is that I love God with all of my heart. There may be days that I don’t live up to that, but Jesus is the best thing that has ever happened in my life. And because of that, you can label me whatever you would like. I don’t care what other people think of me in the sense that I try to follow Jesus. Now what that doesn’t mean is that I am just going out there trying to ram Jesus down other people’s throats. That isn’t what Jesus would want. Again it is about building relationships and then presenting how Jesus has changed your life, not standing on the street corner yelling at people.

So why the color scheme that you see in the picture? That’s another reference to the song itself. Here’s another part of the song:

I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly

It wiggled around like marmalade jelly

It took me a while to catch what it said

‘Cause I had to match the rhythm

Of his belly with my head

“Jesus Saves” is what it raved in a typical tattoo green

He stood on a box in the middle of the city

And claimed he had a dream

The reference of the “typical tattoo green” led me to want the green color scheme. When I told the tattoo artist about it, he came up with the idea to do the black outline and then start with the dark green (typical, old-school tattoo color) and fade it into the bright green on top. That sounded awesome to me, and we went with it.

Enough about the actual tattoo. And if you don’t agree with getting tattoos, that’s great. We don’t have to agree on it because it is a personal decision in my opinion. But the reason I am writing about this experience is it ties in with Life on Mission. You see, this isn’t the first one I’ve gotten from Robby. He did my 1-1-Six tattoo that I got a little over a year ago, and a former apprentice of his did an ichthus (Jesus fish) and cross for me a few months ago as well.

In other words, I have started building a relationship with Robby. He grew up with a Catholic background, but I think he would tell you straight up that he is not a Christian. There is always loud rock, hip hop, or a combination of both pumping through his shop. It’s filled with profanity. In fact, when I sat down in the chair yesterday, he looked at me and apologized for the music and I reminded him that it wasn’t an issue for me.

Do I like the music? Not particularly. Does the profanity match what I consider to be good language? Absolutely not. But like I explained to Robby the first time, and reminded him last night, I don’t expect him to follow Christian morals when he doesn’t claim to be a Christ follower. If I did that, and caused tension as a result, I would never get the chance to meaningfully present Jesus to Robby at some point. He knows what my life is all about, but we aren’t to the point where I can really present Jesus in that meaningful way yet. I don’t want to do anything at this point to cause that to never be an option.

So we talked music, movies, and other general entertainment as he worked, just continuing to get to know each other a little bit. Do we have a lot of the same interests? I wouldn’t say a lot, but we have some bands in common (he actually knows of Skillet and some other Christian groups). We’ve gotten to the point that he values me as a repeat customer (in fact, he gave me a great deal on this piece), and we respect each other.

Through all of this, I’ve been able to just get to know someone that is very different than I am, and different than most people that I get to interact with on a regular basis. I pray that one day I am able to share my complete story with Robby, showing him what Jesus has done in my life, and that he sees what a life with Jesus could actually be in his own.

My point, however, is this. Do you know people that are a lot different than you? I’m sure we all can think of someone. Do you just immediately write them off (judge them because they are different), or do you look for ways to get to know them, build a relationship with them? There is a lot of arguing and tension in the world today. If you are a Christ follower, how can you live on mission and share Christ if you are constantly arguing with those that don’t know Him yet? Like I said to Robby last night, just because I don’t agree with or like something that someone else does doesn’t mean that I can’t be civil with them. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that I can’t build a friendship with them.

Paul writes in Romans 12 that if possible, when it depends on us, we are to live at peace with everyone. You can read the full text here. What are you doing to actively live on mission?

Christian Living, Encouragement, Life, Ministry, Writing

What Do You Want From Me?

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Day 10. I have been writing a minimum of 500 words a day for the last nine days. Really there hasn’t been a day yet that has been under 600 words. And that is just what I am recording here. On top of that, i’ve been writing sermons and Bible studies on top of my 500 word challenge. For example, I wrote over 1,000 words for a blog post yesterday, and then wrote my sermon outline that I had been thinking through all week. That outline ended up being almost 1,000 words as well.

I’ve confirmed something through these last nine days (ten including today) that I have said for a long time. I love writing. This is the first time that I have been able to be this disciplined writing, however, and I am finding that I love it even more than I thought. There have unexpected things that came up (you can read about that here) that in the past would have caused me not to make the time to write. Yet, I have written every day (if you look through my website, you might say there is a day missing; I wrote that day, but kept that writing private), even when it wasn’t easy or convenient.

So, why do I write? Better yet, why do I love the process of writing? That’s part of it. It’s a process. I love getting my thoughts out there. Thinking through an issue and formulating a response to it is actually soothing to me. And it’s addictive. I also love having the possibility of speaking into someone’s life and helping them through a problem. That’s why I write mostly about Christianity and trying to better our relationships with Jesus and one another.

I love it as well because it helps me learn and understand things better for myself. Think about it. When you are teaching someone else how to do something, or how to understand something, you learn more as you are trying to teach them. If you don’t understand something, how can you teach someone else to do something.

As much as I love it, there are things that are difficult and/or frustrating. It can be time consuming, especially when you don’t have a whole lot of motivation at the time you are trying to write. There are so many grammar rules that can make things complicated and frustrating, especially when you have been out of high school/college English and writing classes as long as I have. When my writing starts flowing, I can really get bogged down if I concern myself too much with the grammar side of things.

Sometimes the most frustrating thing about writing for me is actually coming up with a topic to actually write about. That is one of the reasons I haven’t pursued writing a book in the past. That’s one of the main reasons that I haven’t been as consistent in my blogging as I would like to be. And that is the MAIN reason I am writing this post today.

I need your help. I want to know what some topics related to being a Christ follower that you would like me to write about. Give me some ideas. I have a few topics in mind for the next few days, and I am committed to reading more as well, so that will also give me ideas for the future. But I want to write about things that you want to know about as well.

So what questions do you have? Is there something that you are struggling with, and want to see a different perspective on it? Do you have questions about scripture or doctrine? Are you a non-believer at this point, but are curious and want to know what following Jesus is really all about? Comment on this post, or click here to contact me if you’d rather ask your question in private.

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Disclaimer: I am not guaranteeing that I will be able to answer, or attempt to answer every question. There is the possibility I respond to your question privately as well. If there is a question or topic that I do not feel comfortable writing about, I will contact you privately as well to inform you of my decision.

Christian Living, Encouragement, Ministry, Writing

Can God Forgive Me?

I had a great time at our Wednesday night Bible Study last night. In fact, the last two times that we have met (we missed last week due to too many people out because of illness) have been two of my favorite times of our Wednesday night adult Bible study since I moved to Carlsbad almost a year and a half ago. Why? Because we have actually had some great discussion and questions going.

There is a guy that has just recently come back to our church (long story, and not something I can get into on here), and he is trying hard to get his life back on track. He is asking questions, trying to better himself and better his relationship with God. But he also is dealing with things from his past and not being able to let those things go. He just can’t get to the point where he can forgive himself.

I get it. There are things that I have done in my past that were hard to let go of. This was where some of our discussion went last night, and it was very productive. The whole thing has caused me to think through some of this over the last few hours, and I want to put my thoughts down. Where do I start? We need to start with this question: Why is it so hard to forgive yourself when you have asked God for forgiveness and gone through the process of repentance as well? I have a feeling that there are a lot of us that have trouble forgiving ourselves.

We tend to compare ourselves to other people, but what we don’t understand is that we do not see everything that those other people have done. If we look at someone, we may only get to see their “highlight reel” for lack of a better term. Then we see all the negative and bad things that we have done, and that causes us to think we are horrible. So the lenses we see the world through can give us the incorrect perspective. Don’t get me wrong. We are all bad. We have all sinned. We have all done things that we probably wish we had never done. We’ll get to what Paul has to say about that topic in just a minute.

One of the other people attending the Bible study last night asked our friend if he trusted God. His answer was yes. Then the question was posed, “if you trust God, then why do you not believe Him when He says that grace has covered your sins”. In other words, Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, was freely given and covers all sins if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Does that mean that we will instantly and forever be able to live perfect lives. Absolutely not! But what it means is that we do not have to do anything other than have a relationship with Jesus to receive forgiveness. As we get to know Him more, however, we grow and change through His guidance. That doesn’t mean we won’t still mess up from time to time. This is a lifelong process.

Now let’s get back to Paul. I said earlier that we are all bad, that we’ve all messed up and done things that we wished we hadn’t. And Paul would agree with that. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 3:23 the following, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We have all sinned, and on our own we cannot repair that relationship with God that we broke through our sinfulness. When you just look at Romans 3:23, this life looks pretty bleak. It is easy to get down on yourself because you have sinned, and because of that sin you have broken your relationship with your Creator. And that’s why context is so important when studying the Bible.

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Let’s take Paul’s writing in Romans 3 in a little bigger chunk. Paul writes in Romans 3:21-26;

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Man that sounds ominous. But then Paul follows that up with the hope that we all have; An all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus! There’s our hope. There’s how we lay things down and forgive ourselves. We receive forgiveness and atonement through our faith in Jesus, and if you can’t lay things down and forgive yourself when God says that it’s covered, how strong is your faith?

Stop trying to think that you are worse than others. We have all sinned, and if it wasn’t for Jesus, none of us would stand a chance of forgiveness, because we can’t do it on our own. God’s grace is freely given through Christ’s sacrifice, and we receive that through our faith. Then, as our faith continues to grow, Christ’s presence in our lives changes us more and more into His image, as we choose daily to walk with Him! Don’t cheapen Jesus’ sacrifice by believing the lie that it can’t cover over the things you’ve done. You’re no worse than anyone else, but you’re no better than anyone else either in regards to how grace works. Forgive yourself, because God has if you’ve asked for forgiveness and repented.

Christian Living, Encouragement, God

Love is a Verb

love-is-a-verb

Valentine’s Day. A day that you see all the couples you know posting sweet little notifications across social media. I have seen more pictures of candy, food, babies, and couples spending time in the candle light today than I ever thought I would. None of that is necessarily a bad thing either. There is nothing wrong with wanting to show someone how much they mean to you, however, like almost all of the “major holidays” anymore, it seems to have become way too commercial. It is all about how much money you can spend and the more you spend the more you care about the person you are spending on.

My wife and I got married on February 6, 2010, and when we set that date, knowing how close it was to Valentine’s Day, we made an agreement. I cannot remember who’s idea it was, and really it doesn’t matter. We agreed that with our anniversary being only a little over a week before Valentine’s Day, we would basically combine the two celebrations. Even before we set our wedding date, we did not go out of our way to celebrate the holiday anyway.

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Here is the way I look at it. If I have to go all out one day a year just to prove to my wife that I love her because I have not shown her that love throughout the rest of the year, then I have not been the husband that I should be anyway. Am I perfect at treating my wife well, and always showing her how much I love and care about her? Absolutely not. None of us are. But again, if I look at it like I can just do something on one day of the year and then not have to worry about it again for another 365 days, I have failed in a big way.

Being a Christ follower is trying to live a life full of love; Love for fellow human beings and also a love for Jesus. Showing our love to others is all about service. Jesus says in John 13:13-17; 34, 35;

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them… 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We show our love for God by serving our fellow man. Why? Because that shows that we are trying to be Christ followers with the way that we live.

But it can’t be just a one time thing. Or a once a year thing. It has to be a lifestyle of service. Just like I cannot just take one day a year to try to prove my love and care for my wife, we cannot just assume that one act of service is enough to show how much we love Jesus and our fellow man either. I am not talking about earning the love of Jesus. That is something that is freely given. But we should be progressing through our relationship with Jesus in such a way that it produces the works of service in our lives.

If you are a Christ follower, then you should be finding ways to serve God and others in your daily lives. There is nothing wrong with a big service project like a mission trip, but what are you doing in your neighborhood? How are you showing what God has done in your lives to those that you are around on a daily basis? I think we all have room for improvement, and will until the day that we get to see Jesus. Don’t get down on yourself if you mess up, but let’s all find ways that we can serve one another and show the love of Christ in our lives!

Christian Living, Encouragement, Ministry

Priorities!

It is 10:30 PM on day six of “My 500 Word Challenge” that I wrote about a few days ago. This is my first attempt at writing anything today. I really should be in bed right now, because this is also the week that I committed to trying to get up at 6:00 AM every day to be able to write in the mornings. Unfortunately, I have not met my goal of getting up that early to this point yet, although Sunday I did get up at 6:15. This morning I stayed in bed until 8:30, but that is kind of the point that I want to write about today.

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You see, after preaching yesterday morning, eating lunch with some friends from church, quickly packing an over night bag and booking a hotel, my wife and I headed out of Carlsbad on a spur of the moment trip to El Paso, TX. It is just a two and a half hour drive from Carlsbad, but it is not a trip that we make very often. We went because one of our faith family members from our church here was in El Paso because his mom had to be flown there early Friday morning due to some major health concerns. We knew about the situation, but found out Sunday morning that things may be even worse than we originally thought.

Kelley and I decided that we needed to be there for our friends, knowing that we would probably not be able to see his mom in the hospital. Checking on, and being there to support our faith family is something that we hold in great importance in our lives. We were right, we never even actually made it to the hospital. We got to our hotel and contacted our friend. He said that his mom was not up for visitors, but that he would let us know when he was heading out from the hospital in a little while so we could meet up with him for some coffee.

So we heading out to dinner (Chipotle, one of our favorite restaurants that we do not have anywhere close to here), and then just explored El Paso a little while waiting on a phone call. We were able to meet up with our friend and spend some time just making sure that he was alright (his wife had to head back to Carlsbad before we met up with them). Just being present with someone when they or a family member is going through something unexpected is sometimes the best thing that can be done. Even better than that, we found out that the situation with his mom was not as severe as once thought (and that she would probably be discharged in the next couple of days, though we have not received an update since then).

Hospital visits, or visiting with people who have loved ones in the hospital is part of the job in ministry. I am not writing this trying to say that I did something special. I would have done the same thing for anyone of my faith family or any of my friends for that matter. But the whole situation got me thinking about something else. It is a goal of mine to start getting up earlier. I want to be more productive and build better habits in my life. And those are all good goals. Life does not always live up to those goals and expectations though.

Driving to El Paso right after church caused me to miss my usual Sunday afternoon nap, and then my wife and I were up late just decompressing from the day, and trying to relax. It was after midnight by the time I laid down, and after 2:00 AM before I fell asleep. So I gave myself a break and slept until 8:30 (which is still an improvement, because in similar situations in the past, I would have stayed in bed until 10:00 probably). I also did not try to write while we were at the hotel. The motivation just wasn’t there at the time and I decided not to force it.

Here I am, however, past what should be my bed time as I write these words. There are times in life that things are not going to go the way we think they are. I left our house for church yesterday morning not planning on making a trip to El Paso. In fact, I had planned on just relaxing in our living room for the afternoon, trying to get in bed at a decent time, and getting up at 6:00 AM this morning. Did any of that actually happen? No. So goals that I wanted to achieve just did not materialize. But I am still getting my 500 words in today. And more importantly, I was able to be there for someone that needed support.

What am I getting at? Goals are important. Routine is important. But friends, family, people in general are more important than any of those things. And I also learned something else that is really important for me. While I want to write in the mornings, making it a priority in my day, since I have committed to this challenge, I will make time for it. Even if it means writing late at night when I can barely keep my eyes open as my fingers fly across the keys.

So what about you? What do you prioritize in your life? Is it your goals or yourself? Or do you make it a priority to be present for your friends and family? Is it your routine, i.e. your comfort? Or do you let interruptions happen and make the best out of them? Enough for tonight, I’m going to wind down and head to bed!

God, Life, Ministry, Preaching

One of the Best Days of My Life!

August 12, 2007. Nine and a half years ago to the day. A day that I will never ever forget. Sure, there are details that get a little blurred with the more time that passes, but I would be hard pressed to find a more important day in my life, at least in regards to my calling in life. My wedding day would probably be the only other day that I would consider as more important overall, as I got to marry my best friend and the person that has agreed to walk beside me through my calling in life.

What was August 12, 2007? It was the day that Crossroads Christian Church in Gray, TN ordained me for full-time ministry. In other words, the leadership of my home church “set me apart” for my calling of ministry. They had watched me grow up, and even with the mistakes of my youth that they knew about (I had some wild years, even while going to bible college), they saw the calling that God had put on my life. On top of that, they also saw my commitment to follow God’s calling on my life to go into vocational ministry.

The summer of 2007, leading to this memorable day in August, was a very impactful time in my life as well. I had just finished a 3-month internship at Georgetown Church of Christ, and had been able to start correcting some of the mistakes of my youth. It was also the summer that I met my wife. In fact, August 11, sometime in the early morning hours was when Kelley and I finally made our feelings known to each other and agreed to start dating. She was still in Ohio, and I was back home in Tennessee for a week before going back to school in Ohio.

So leading into my Ordination service, I had also just started a relationship that would prove to be something very important as well. To say that I was on a “high” would be an understatement. Crossroads is the church I consider my home, and a place that has helped prepare me for ministry over the years. For the leadership from Crossroads to see something in me enough to “set me apart” for ministry means more to me than I think I could ever really express through words.

Let me set the scene a little for you. Most ordination services that I have heard of over the years usually take place on a Sunday evening. But for some reason, Clint (the Sr. Minister) and everyone else from Crossroads decided that they would hold my ordination during both Sunday morning services that day.

My best friend (and eventually best man in our wedding) was able to be there that day to lead the worship service. Nick Tomeo, the professor of youth ministry at Cincinnati Christian University, where I was studying youth ministry, made the five hour drive from Cincinnati to Gray to be a part of the service. One of my best friends from college drove in from Louisville, KY to be there as a support to me. My extended family that all go to different churches around East Tennessee showed up at Crossroads to be a part of the service as well. Ryan Bader, the last ordained person from that church before me came and spoke as part of the service.

Clint Andrews and Curtis Booher, mentors and men that I respect highly preached and challenged not only me, but the congregation to run the race of this life with our eyes fixed on Jesus. And then maybe the most special part of the whole service happened. The elders of Crossroads surrounded me, and with me on my knees in an act of surrender to God’s call in my life, laid hands on me, confirming my calling, and promising to support me in my efforts to be a servant leader in the Kingdom of God.

After the service was over, my mom, along with the rest of my family, hosted a luncheon in celebration of the day. To say that I was blown away with all that took place is definitely an understatement. It was a humbling moment, one that I never want to take for granted. There is nothing special about me. That is not why I am writing this. In fact, I will be the first one to admit that I am a very flawed person, and I do not always feel worthy of the calling that God placed on my life. But I also absolutely love getting to preach full-time. There is nothing else I would want to do with my life. And honestly, I don’t really think that I am qualified to do anything else.

I am humbled by the fact that men that watched me grow up saw enough in me to set me apart for a life of ministry. But it is also sobering. Not only do I have a calling from God, I have the support and recognition from other servant leaders that I am set apart for vocational ministry. What if I fail? Do I have what it takes? Am I going to make them look bad? If I try to do this all on my own power, then the answer to those questions is an emphatic YES! But that is one of the reasons for an ordination service like this. It shows that we cannot do ministry on our own. We have to support each other, but more importantly, we have to rely on God’s power to do what we are called to do.

That is why this day, nine and a half years ago is so important to me. It reminds me that I have a support system, even 1,400 miles away from where I am living now. But it also reminds me that God has called me to this life, and it is through His power that I am able to do what I love.

A friend of mine in ministry posted a picture of his ordination program the other day on social media, and that is what got me thinking about all of this today. It is a great reminder of those that have gone before us, but also surround us and support us in our calling. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life, even when ministry is tough and beats me up a little. But more than that, I can’t imagine walking through this calling without the support system that have surrounded me through the years, even when I wasn’t really living the way I should have been.

What about you? I would love to hear about a day that you will never forget or about the support system you have in your life. Don’t think you have a support system or feel like you need more? Let me know how I can try to support you!

Christian Living, Life

Up and Down: New Mexico’s Weather

One of the things that I’m still trying to get used to after moving to New Mexico a little over two years ago is the weather. Growing up in East Tennessee, we had all four seasons, and generally speaking, as the seasons would change, the weather would not fluctuate that often. What I mean is that once it was fall, we had fall weather, or once winter came, you could expect it to be somewhat cold outside for a few months.
Weather is not like that here in Carlsbad. For example. We are currently in February, which is considered a winter month. Most places that I have lived before here have already experienced snow, very cold temperatures, and other things that you can generally expect during the winter months. We have had a couple of cold days, highs in the upper 30’s, but today, and most of the last week, we have been having temperatures in the mid to upper 80’s. In fact, today it actually hit 90 degrees. I played golf this afternoon, and was sweating pretty good wearing shorts and a thing polo shirt. Not February weather that I am used to to say the least.

Carlsbad is in a desert region, so I guess you could ask what else I could expect from living here. And to a point, I get that. What is difficult for me is that the high was 90 degrees today and it is forecasted to be in the low 50’s as a high tomorrow, then Monday a high of 39 with the potential for snow. In other words, there is a high temperature difference of nearly 50 degrees in a 48-hour period.

This temperature fluctuation does one thing to me, other than annoy me. It literally makes me sick. My body and immune system just cannot seem to figure out how to deal with this constant change in temperature. When I get right down to it, I honestly would just like the weather to make up its mind. Get cold (like winter is supposed to be) or stay warm, but pick one and go with it. Stop this constant shifting.

What about you? No I do not mean what do you think about the weather? What do you prefer the temperature to be? Do you want snow or could you go the rest of your life and be perfectly happy without ever seeing another snow flake? My question is simply this: In your pursuit of being a Christ follower, are you consistent, or does your commitment level fluctuate as much or more than the temperatures of Carlsbad, New Mexico I described above?

Jesus would call that constant fluctuation in our lives being “lukewarm”. If you are familiar at all with the letters to the seven churches described in Revelation, then you know where I am going with this. Jesus does not allow “lukewarmness”. “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16). He says be either hot or cold. And that is not Him saying that it is ok if you decide not to be a Christ follower. That is not what He means by being cold. He is referring to how Laodicea received its water sources during this time period.

Basically, they had an aqua duct system that would bring water either from cool or hot springs into the city. Depending on what you wanted the water for, you would either want the hot or cold. But that went to the most prominent of the city first. That is because the further away from the source of the water, it would become lukewarm, and not very appealing.

Jesus is making the argument in this letter to Laodicea that He wants us to either be hot or cold, the best form that we can be. In other words, if we are claiming to be His followers, then we need to be the best we can be. Stop this fluctuation. If we are in, then we need to be all in or He will spit us out.

So let me ask you again: In your pursuit of being a Christ follower, are you consistent, or does your commitment level fluctuate as much or more than the temperatures of Carlsbad, New Mexico I described above?

Christian Living, Encouragement, Life

On Mission?

Though I live in NM now, I spent most of my life living in East TN. My wife and I love it here in NM, but there will always be part of our hearts in the hills of East TN (and Southern OH as well). That brings me to some very heartbreaking news from my home town. Actually it is from my high school alma mater, which brings it even closer to home for me. I went to Daniel Boone High School in Gray, TN, the home of the Trailblazers. While there are definitely things I do not miss about high school, once a Trailblazer, always a Trailblazer.

This past week, news broke across my social media pages about another tragedy within the ranks of Daniel Boone. Three students were injured in a bad car wreck, one in critical condition in ICU. I say another tragedy because just five months ago, a high school couple was in a wreck, killing the 16-year old female passenger on her birthday. This community has been through a lot this school year.

Just a day or so ago, the student that was in ICU in critical condition succumbed to his injuries and passed away. 1,400 miles away, my heart is breaking for these students, staff, faculty, and all those affiliated with Daniel Boone. I did not know either of these students that lost their lives in these tragic accidents, but I know current students that knew them. The one good thing that I can say about this whole situation is that the community has rallied together and are supporting one another. Boone Strong has been popping up all over my social media feeds as a reminder that we are all one. In fact, as I write this, I am changing my profile pic on Facebook to Boone Strong for the next week.

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This has all be a reminder of something that we all to often forget; Life is short and we have no idea how much time we have left in this world. I am not trying to be discouraging or “doom and gloom”, but the reality of our lives is that the next minute is not guaranteed for any of us. Life is fragile, but it is also a huge blessing.

So I have a challenge for you. What are you going to do with the time you have remaining? Are you just going to “go with the flow” and live with a purpose? Or are you going to step up to the idea that as a Christ follower, we have a mission and should be living this “Life on Mission”? We are currently going through the series Life on Mission by Tim Harlow at Central Christian Church here in Carlsbad. It has completely changed the way I look at living my life. I want to live my life on mission for Jesus more than I want to do anything else.

The reason this is so important is that we do not know how much time we have left. We might be gone tomorrow. But your friend, neighbor, coworker, family member, significant other, or whoever else you are close to might be gone tomorrow as well. Do they know Jesus? Have they given their life to Him and allowed Him to become their savior? If not, have you shared your story of a loving relationship with our savior with them?

If we are a Christ follower, then we have a mission of sharing Jesus with as many people as we can. The best way we can do that is through building relationships with those that do not know Him yet, and earning the right to share Him with them at some point. Let the tragic loss of a couple of teenagers five months apart in East TN be a reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed for any of us. Are you on mission?

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Encouragement, Life, Writing

A New Challenge

I started a challenge yesterday. From the outside, I am torn. Part of the challenge seems really straight forward, and somewhat easy. But it also seems very daunting at the same time. Writing is something that I have enjoyed for a long time, but I just never seemed to develop enough discipline, writing on a regular basis. That is what this challenge is all about. Brandon Kelley, the author of Crucified to Life that I wrote about yesterday is the one that introduced me to this challenge.

What is it? It is a challenge from an author by the name of Jeff Goins. The name is “My 500 Word Challenge”. Basically, I have committed to writing at least 500 words every day for the next 31 days. The challenge started for me yesterday in my review of Crucified to Life, but I wanted to publicly announce my decision to pursue this challenge today.

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Over the next month, I am committing to writing at least 500 words daily. This is on top of any writing I do for sermons. Most of what I write will be posted here as Thoughts from a Crosseyed Jesus Freak, but there may be some times that I work on something that will not be ready for public consumption right away. What do I mean by that?

The whole reason I am taking this challenge, other than my love of writing here on my blog, is that I am wanting to become more disciplined in my writing so that I can accomplish something that I have wanted to do for a long time. In other words, I am starting the process of attempting to write my first book. So there may be days that my 500 words are part of that book, and if that is the case, then obviously that will not be posted on the blog.

This is somewhat of a scary process. 500 words is not that much, but when you commit to write that much daily for a month, it can seem daunting as I stated earlier. But it is going to make me a better writer, and it is going to help me develop a habit of writing so that I can write a book, possibly more.

As part of this process, I am going to attempt another major life style change. I am naturally a night owl, meaning I stay up late, and only wake up right before I need to be somewhere the next day. The problem with that is I do not have the energy or brain power in the evenings once the work day is over to write (or read, which I want to do more of that as well). So, starting next week, I am going to try to turn myself into a morning person, as nasty as that sounds to someone like me. I am going to start getting up around 6:00 AM in an effort to write before I have to be in the office.

Why am I writing this post today? It is simple really. By putting this out publicly, I am hoping that you will help keep me accountable in my commitment to writing, and to getting up in the mornings. Believe me, I am going to need all the help I can get in both. If you have not seen a blog post in a few days, reach out and ask me. It may be that I have written, but just not anything that I can post yet, or it may be that I got distracted. If you see #My500Words on anything in the next 31 days, that is part of this challenge!

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Oh, and if you want, jump in and take the challenge with me. You can sign up here!

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak

Christian Living, God

What Does Abundant Life in Christ Look Like?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a different kind of post on here than ever before. I had the honor of reading an advanced copy of a book about preaching that had just been released, and while I had no obligation to write a post about it, I chose to because of the great content it contained. You can read that post here.

Since then, I was chosen to read an advanced copy of another book by one of the authors of Preaching Sticky Sermons. Brandon Kelley just released his second book, and just like the first, I have nothing but great things to say about the book. Preaching Sticky Sermons is a book that has a very specific audience of those of us that write and preach sermons.

Crucified to Life is a book that has a much wider audience. It is written for any of us that want to live our lives as a Christ follower in a freer and more abundant way. But it is more than that really. It is also for those that have not made the decision to follow Jesus with their lives yet, but want to know what being a Christ follower is really all about.

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I am 33-years old as I write these words. I was baptized at the age of 11. Being a Christ follower has been the majority of my life (2/3’s so far if you need help with the math). One thing I can tell you from my experience in this time; while being a Christ follower is something that I have always wanted out of my life, I did not always know what that meant.

Christianity, if looked at from the outside, on a surface level, seems like any other religion. A list of do’s and don’ts that you control your life. A way to be a better person in the eyes of who you try to follow. But that is not what Jesus came for. He came that we might have abundant life, and that is what Brandon lays out so eloquently in Crucified to Life.

If you are looking for a book that you can quickly breeze through, but not really get a lot out of, this is not the book for you. This is a deep, thought-provoking read, but one that is very much worth the time. In fact, part of the process of getting to read an advanced copy is agreeing to provide a review on the Amazon listing for the book. We were not required to leave a positive review, just an honest one. Here is what I wrote as my review: “Challenging. Relevant. Deep. Just some of the words I can write in regards to this book. Brandon is an outstanding author with a great understanding of the challenges of the Christian life. Give his words a chance to open the freeing and vibrant life that only following Jesus can provide.”

I mentioned Christianity earlier as a religion, and that is what it is if you look at it on the surface. But Brandon does a great job of explaining that it is so much more than that when you really get into it. What is different in Christianity than any other religion? You have to sacrifice yourself in following any other religion, but Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we can be a Christ follower.

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That does not mean that we do not have sacrifices to make in our own lives. We are called to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25; 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Brandon deals with this issue directly in the pages of his book.

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Other religions say that we have to do enough good in the name of our religion to outweigh all the bad that we have done in our lives. Christianity says you can never be good enough on your own, and that is why Jesus came; to pay the price for our sins. You are never too far gone for the love of Jesus to cover you. This life of being a Christ follower, and the freedom and abundant life that is attached, is open to all.

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It is my prayer that you will be blessed by this book. Crucified to Life is one of those rare books that is deep and challenging, but it is also so relevant because in today’s world, we often miss the point. We think of life as a checklist; Yes I need to do that, no I cannot do that. Jesus is saying, follow Me. Lay down your life and become the new creation that only I can make you through you denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following Me with your whole life.

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What about you? Are you Crucified to Life?

Thoughts From a Crosseyed Jesus Freak