SCY Youth Minister’s Weblog

The adaptation of “Living God’s Love: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality” to classes for Christian youth was an easy and natural process.  It is ‘on time’ for our church family. 

At first read I thought the book was too easy, already in play in our christian lives, and would not whip us into the shape a family of our age should be in.  But after further reflection and realization that the practices in this book are re-center my faith, I changed my mind.  We are a fragile group.  I believe there is fine line between letting God recreate us into something useful and burning us up.  And I believe this study is perfect for walking that line for me and SC. 

If you’ve not yet read the book, please do because it will be the foundation of much of what we are going to do as a family in the near future.  At our stage the Spirit will should speak communally, and we should set aside our sin of pride and commune together to accept its guidance.  It is my belief that the prayers of our leaders for a more active faith community are going to be answered in part through this Sunday morning (and more) plan of Discipling Groups and the study of this book- take full advantage.

Young people.  Accept the fact that you are blessed to have an older community to learn from that will allow the Spirit to convict and alter their lives.  Your faith will be better for it.  The kingdom will benefit from your increased awareness of the hard work and dedication it takes to initially let go and let God.  You are going to see SC start from scratch in its ministry to the world.  You will see us admit we aren’t close to God.  And you will see grown people (the madness) do whatever it takes to step out of our worldly lives into a life full of God.

To live God’s love (in all of life) is to live, everything else is just a waste of time.  Believe it.   

Should we love God more than life?

Do you?

Just looking for some responses.

The Zoe conference was a holy time.  Just hanging out with/ worshiping beside/ praying around/ and learning beside other SC leaders (outside of Sunday morning) was special.  But even greater is the fact that we took a step together.  Combine the step with the blending and we are in the process of becoming a team.  We went to Nashville in close quarters and were mashed like a four pack of playdoe into a rainbow of one.  Get us together a little longer and we’ll become the same. 

In ministry you always depend on the consistency, faith, and commitment of each minister to carry out their part in the mission.  This was only one step, but the first is often difficult (although the next one may be harder).  What will we do for step two.  How can we be equal and powerful and one at the same time?  Time together, Shared commitment, Spiritual growth, Honoring each other. 

Thanks SC leaders for giving me a glimpse of what is to come.          

Our WILDERNESS TREK journey provided a wide variety of experiences. We traveled, slept, ate, packed, prayed, worked, struggled, encouraged, and helped others as a team- depending on God for every step/ every breathe.-Our experience fell under important spiritual categories-

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care– then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death– and the worst kind of death at that– a crucifixion.

service, worship, leading, teaching, living. You, me, your parents, the Bible, and most importantly God’s Spirit all need to come together to develop your faithful path (and future).1. Begin by praying about this transition every day.

2. Talk to your parents about it.

3. Read the Bible.

4. Start writing down your thoughts as God shares them with you.

5. Let’s talk about our plans as a group and individually.

Please be open to this adventure

Gorham B, Michael E, Michael B, Jake N and Lane T,I am so very proud of you guys. You are strong, courageous, and willing to honor God with your lives. You are leaders of tomorrow. As leaders all you must do is 1. follow God closely, 2. be open and honest in everything, 3. and gently serve others. We will help you find a way to be bold in life, to trust God, and yet put yourselves last; In other words, to be like Christ.

9-Man born blind

 10-Shepherd’s life threatened

11-Friend of Jesus dies

12-His time is coming to an end, give him your gifts now

There is no substitute for being in class, but there is no substitute for looking at a text after you’ve taught/participated in/heard a lesson either.  I will not try here to reteach or even cover the issues address from class (although I have thought it would be cool to record your comments), instead I’ll just highlight the scripture.

We are not of this world.  When our lives are broken we are temporarily messed up.  By temporarily I mean for a very short time.  During that time we are offered temporary healing (although ultimately eternal), and in ch. 9 we get to see, feel, and imagine God doing this for a guy.  What kind of healing do you need?  What kind of healing does God give everyone?  Where is the dark part of you?  In the story some didn’t believe the man, Who would not support your faith? Some wanted to rebuke him for telling of the beauty among the ugliness that is Christ’s redemptive work, do you have a rebuker, a discourager, a slow you downer?  What does God have to do to help you live for Him?  Wouldn’t it be sad if the guy wnet and lived life just like he did before?

In 10, the good shepherd lets us know how it goes down everyday.  Everyday some try to jump out but are rescued, everyday some avoid protection, everyday some close their ears and eyes and minds and hearts to goodness.  And rightliving, goodness, holiness, and mission can get you hurt by the world.  rightliving rarely does, goodness rarely does, holiness will get rediculed, but mission will get you hurt.  But don’t get tight, live lose in your mission.  Live with passion.  When you have a car accident and are lose the impact isn’t usually as bad.  Live lose in Mission for Jesus, active faith that attempts to influence others for Christ is the only way. 

We leave for Wilderness Trek Thurs. July 19th.  John D., Gorham B., Lane T., Michael E., Jake N., and Michael B.

Please pray for our safety.  We will drive carefully and we have serviced our vehicle.  We are trusting God to protect us.  Please pray for Kathleen, Avery, and Elijah.  I am trusting God to watch them and help them.

Valarie T. will be working with the youth while we are gone.  I hope both those that go and those that stay will be better in their faith after these next ten days. 

We will return the evening of July 29th.  Thank you for your support, your prayers, and the teachings that will help us experience this adventure fully in God.  Bless one another while we’re gone.   

it feels like God loves this community of faith.  We must remember that none of us are perfect/ all of us are guilty.  Guilty of neglect of the Spirit, each other, our mission, our commitment, our love.  You are forgiven. 

Remember the blessings.  Blessings of health, sustinance, opportunity, family, and grace.  As we are convicted to get better, and reminded of the mercy/ gifts from God we will be changed.  And it is that changed (out of the worldness) state that God is in love with.  Pray that God will use what we have/ what you have experienced to grow into a perfectly lovable being. 

You have been loved, you are loved, and you will continue to be loved by the Creator God.  The judge is lenient but His love compells us.  Be compelled today to commit to a life of renewed faith.  Renew your purpose.  Renew your mission.  Renew your focus.  Renew your heart to put God in the pole position of your life.  I don’t know what that will look like for you, but I do know that you will be better for having done it.  Set all the worry aside and embrace Jesus.  Feel again the presence of the Spirit.  Dream again of the day you will have no more pain.  Imagine again what your life would be if God were in complete control- and live it. 

Take in God.  Breathe Him.  Be one with Him.  There is a better way to live than your current life.  And it helps with headaches too, John 

Since Avery can’t verbally tell me what he’s thinking, I have to watch for clues.  I can usually tell when he’s hungry, thirsty, tired, dirty, wants to go outside, or when Elijah has done something wrong (it brings Avery great joy to tell on (not great) and protect (makes me proud) his little brother).  But other things are more ambiguous.  Like when he sees something in the distance; that something can be so important he will not rest until I recognize it. 

It works best for me to stand really close to him, his level, look his direction, put my face against his, and look down his little finger (which does not point very accuarately).  Not only are my chances of knowing his thoughts and seeing his sights increased, he also gives me more time.  He appreciates communicating with me as I appreciate being told.

When you look at a landscape, a setting, a day’s worth of events, a newsclipping, a job, a person, or a group of people, you see your perspective of it or them.  It is impossible to see another person’s perspective.  Through communication (talking about how they see it), compassion (you caring how they see it), and commitment (you working to have common experiences or doing mental excercises to see like them) we are able to stand closer to them in their view.  If you look at a view from the other side you will see a different picture (Christ always came near).  You can’t occupy the same space but you can stand near a person to see what they see.  In going to Juarez we will have a chance to see a little of what they see.  We will see life a little like a Mexican citizen living in Juarez that needs others to build him or her a home sees.

In labeling our future friends ‘they’ I’ve already made a mistake in seeing what someone else sees.  I’ve started a pattern of seperation from them.  In showing up with possessions I am making a mistake.  There is no way we will be able to live the full experience, but we could do more to improve our understanding, it’s not always convenient, it’s not time conscience, but it is just what Christ would do.

Make this trip about seeing through other’s eyes, and make your life about seeing others through Jesus’ eyes.  Christians have chosen to think about others more than I think about theirself.  Called to trust God, and be less selfish than natural animals and non-Christians.  Put the future in God’s hands and allow his type of work fulfilled through you. 

Define who your others are.  Mine are the youth in the region of Tyrone.  And when you take yourself out to help those unlike you (Juarez) remember to let Jesus’ sight control your own. 

As our summer schedule begins, my prayer is that our events and scheduled times will bring the youth (sometimes families) together as well as change them into more Christ-like bodies (communally and individually).

I plan for moments and memories to be made that form Christlikeness.  What I mean is that your youth will have aha moments of clarity into how Christianity works- what it calls you to do and what it proclaims.  What I mean also is that your youth will face the future with a storehouse of lifechanging brainwaves and heartpaths that will divert them from bad decisions and satan’s schemes.  I hope to help you empower your youth to give their lives to Christ even more than you or I are able to do with our own.  Together we can do it.  And together our community will be made fresh to feel the presence of our Creator individually and communally.  When the youth are changed all will be changed.

On the flip side, and more importantly up front, is that as our adults go so will our youth.  I know very little about your relationship with one another, but I do know that among the youth there is discomfort with one another.  Most of your youth have told me that they don’t like other youth- I would never be specific- but it is true that MOST have told either Kathleen or I that they don’t like others in the group.  I’d like for us to work on this.

So far in our group work we have spent a small amount of time talking about this problem.  I am asking for home support in dealing with it.  Our Sunday morning class is divided at into three groups- breaking up much of the tension.  Throughout the summer we will be dealing with some of the problems, even individually.  The community is more important than the individual anyway.  Our future is more important than today.  Thank you for your support and for your prayers. 

I ask that you speak positively about your brothers and sisters and other youth at church in front of your youth so that they will learn from watching you.  Some of our summer events will bring your youth to uncomfortable places (an important part of an individual faith) with uncomfortable relationships (an important part of communal faith).  I hope that this will help the healing process and develop lasting relationships that will form a core in our youth ministry.  A strong core is needed before anything else will work.

Thank you for your help.  This should make a big difference in everything we do at S.C.  The youth don’t read this blog, but if they do it wouldn’t hurt because they know I love them anyway.  And they know how special they are just as I know how special I am and how special every member is to the community and family we have.  God brought us all together.  The moment we forget that is the moment everything we stand for is deminished.  Our dreams as gifts to God will not be fulfilled if we don’t work together.

IN Christ, John      

Since mid Jan. we have completed 8 chapters from the Gospel of John.  Those that know me best would say, “how deligent”,” nice goal setting”,”uncanny speed”,”strong discipline” or maybe “so what”.  But it did take 7 months to cover 16 chs. of Mark so this is a step up.  We are on pace to finish John’s 21 chapters in 28 weeks, or 75% a chapter a week and completion on the last Sunday of July.  Mark’s gospel clip was 50% a chapter per week.  I pray that, even though we could spend a year on each chapter and not be able to apply Christ’s teaching fully, we will be more like Christ for having spent time with the Glory of our Savior.

Christ is the center of our Christian faith and the Gospel of John is another powerful witness we need to absorb.  In Chapters 5 through 8 Jesus is challenging the people.  He challenges the religious rulers to stop studying and notice what God is doing.  He challenges his followers to trust then ask and receive.  He challenges the people to believe difficult teaching and not walk away.  He challenges the Jews to forget what they thought was right about Yahwehism and believe that He and the Father are one. 

In the chapters we also see the power of Jesus to control the world in a supernatural way.  He took important Jewish festivals and gave them new meaning.  He drew the line in the sand and said, “If you follow me you will never die.”  Not following Jesus meant death.  His teachings were too hard yet too easy, they were too forgiving yet too specific.  They expected a total commitment, but not to streneous rules.  And His words made people more equal than than the special people would ever feel comfortable admitting. 

Jesus was bold, harsh, loving, and giving.  Let’s listen to Him and believe what He says.  Guess what?  His words aren’t going to be easier to swallow as the book progresses.  But as a whole the story is better (more complete) when you’ve heard it all.  See you Sunday.

Remember we have started dividing up into three groups Sunday for a discussion time.  Have a great rest of the week.  Walk in confidence with the Leader today!  

Napoleon Dynamite.

What a great movie.  He’s a hero.  He’s what no kid wants to be.  The life of Napoleon is complicated, yet simple.  He must navigate through some tough years without a strong support base; his aunty, brother, and uncle have unique priorities (none of which is Napoleon).  He doesn’t have friends at the beginning of the movie.  Yet the only thing he must do is be himself as the rest of the world is theirself.  Some in the world do good, some do bad, and most could care less what Napoleon does or doesn’t do.  In this void is lanky, slow to speak, young man that must make the little choices to either do good or bad.  And in the end Napoleon thinks about life and chooses to do good for others.  I love it.  It is inspiring.  He reacts normally (an eye for an eye) but ultimately gives graciously (with thoughtfulness and self sacrifice).  Napoleon is a model for living the difficult adolescent years out right.

Ok, so model may be too strong of a word, but you tell me if you would risk everything for a new friend or work endless hours on the perfect gift.  Yes, he is no saint.  True, he fights with those who hurt him most.  But, most of the time Napoleon turns the other cheek when people cause him pain.  Not many stories out of Hollywood can say they set that type of example. 

Napoleon would tell you to dream big and go out and conquer that dream, fulfill it and help others along the way.  Helping others fulfill their dreams is part of living a life that deserves to have its dreams fulfilled.  He’d say take care not to let people knock you down to long.  Spend time with those who are helpful, who care, and that actually like you for who you really are- not for who you try so hard to be. 

I hope you enjoyed covering this movie these past four weeks.  I actually used over twenty verses (we could have used the material for a year).  Write back with your thoughts.  

John’s Gospel has been divided in many ways.  One common way is the prologue (1:1-18), the Book of Signs (1:19-12:50), the Book of Glory (13:1-20:31), and an appendix (21:1-25).  So far our Sunday morning class has covered the prologue (2 weeks, sorry I got carried away) and the beginning of the Book of Signs (we are in the forth chapter now).  We’ve watched the John videos nearly every week and talked about the message of the scripture to it’s audience and to our lives. 

This is a good time to write about what we are doing in class because 1. it might help those who don’t attend class every week to keep up and 2. I’ve noticed that in these first few chapters we’ve covered most of the gospel message.  Gospel means “good news” and the Christian good news is that Jesus is the Son of Creator God.  He came to earth as a man to teach us important things.  Namely, that we need a relationship with God and only that relationship can give you eternal life.  We also see that those that would seem to understand the simplicity of this message don’t and those that shouldn’t often do.  It also shows a proper response to the good news- telling everyone else.  Chapters 1-4 teach us these things and more.  Read them again if you missed any of this. 

Although we’ve covered enough material to change your life forever- come to class again and let more be revealed to you about Jesus.  You may not want to know more, and I respect your will- youth have free will.  But no matter what, never forget what these first four chapters taught and how the only way they can be applied, as intended, is for you to believe the message, be changed, and live to help others believe.  Any teaching that calls you to a life of less is not THE good news.  Have a great day.

John 

“Facing the Giants” is better than any one sermon or praise setting- so check it out.  It is a powerful reminder of God’s desire to be trusted.  He wants to be praised.  And he wants to answer our deepest desires, if we will only give Him our all. 

In out Wed. night class, out of necessity we divided the movie into four parts of about 30 minutes.  Part one was a glimps into the life of a man that was really falling apart.  His faith in God could be questioned, his strive to succeed was wavering and personal trajedies began to build one on top of the other.  In part two he decides to give it all to God.  Further hardship had developed and he and his wife begin to pray for God to show them some light.  After prayer, meditation, and scripture reading, he concluded to give his whole life to God- to praise God every step of the way and let the outcome be whatever it will be.

Part three is when the commitment to Christ becomes contagious to those around coach Taylor and the whole school is changed.  Blessing begins to flow and the team begins to play with a belief that they can accomplish anything if they “praise God when they win and praise God when they lose.”

In part four we watch God do amazing things through and despite the lives of nearly every character.  And it ends as a wonderful story of God blowing away His followers with gifts, love, purpose, passion, and hope. 

If you’ve not seen the movie check it out today.  If you’d like to come to the midweek movie, feel free.  The teenagers of S.C. and their friends are pretty good hosts and would enjoy a new face.   In the auditorium at 7:0opm wednesday nights.

The youth are covering the Gospel of John on Sunday morning. 

The word “WORD” in the beginning of John’s gospel means more than we might first think.  Do you recall what the words of God did in Genesis 1 and 2?  Check it out.  There was power like a Mack truck (raised to the 50 billointh power).  You know who had that power?  Jesus is this WORD, says the Gospel of John.  The Bible is saying that Jesus is that powerful.  Also, Gen 1:26 says ”Then God spoke, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. . .”  Hey GUYS.  It is saying that you are made to be like something bigger, badder, bolder and more considerately loving than anything we can even dream about.  You are made in Jesus’ image.  Although Jesus didn’t walk around flexing his power over everything all the time (he did, as you know, quite often), what he did do was show you, a second version of himself, how to use what power you have in life.  The Spirit, Jesus, and God want you to be like them.  And in our study we will consider that same powerful thing (Jesus) as he steps on our little stage- for us to look at, talk to, imagine. 

You serve a big God.  And the Book of John starts off telling us how Big Jesus is.  And it tells us many other things about Him- this book is all about Him and Us.

How do you best know Jesus?  As big creator, as helper, as friend to the lost or hurting, as critic of the special, as a sacrifice (very common in our family), as a revolutionary, as a life-style changer, as a teacher, or as many other things- which do you know best?

What do you hope to gain through our study?

What percentage of your life are you willing to give to God’s likeness?

What is your calling from God?

Describe the purpose of you being a servant of Christ.

I told myself not to write anything else until I had something other than religion to say.  Church dynamics is my continual internal dialogue and I get board with other things, so although this is connected, I found another topic in- my own flesh and blood kids.  So I started a new category- family.  It will be a great place to show you some picks in the future.  Of course my whole church is a family, which is the first reason it is connected to religion, but. . .

 I love my two boys.  I love them more like I love God than other people.  With God, we have this thing that nothing will seperate us.  No thing, no person, no group, no disaster, no apathy, nothing can come between us.  With people, they let you down, they hurt you, they aren’t what you thought they were, or they just don’t commit to walk through the fire with you.  I’m guilty.  I’m speaking in general of course, spouses, good friends, and church family might actually not fail you. 

But I am connected to my babies like I’m connected to God.  It feels like nothing on earth really matters more.  Kathleen and I talk for hours, nearly every day, about the beauty of being parents.  We get to work together and love together through the blessings of daily life with Avery and Eli.  If you’ve got kids you know what I feel.  To have them love you for you, and to love them for them.  I wouldn’t change anything.  I can’t even think about changing anything.  God made them and gave them to me to love and encourage and educate and love some more.  I meditate often on how the rest of you must love your children and try to treat them as they were my own.  What would life be like without loving people unconditionally.

Another thing connected to religion is- I am so honored that you love my babies, and I am so honored that you let me love your children.  There isn’t enough time in the day to tell them how wonderful they are, right?  How perfectly made they are.  How special they are.  How can I ever repay you for loving, blessing, teaching, hugging, playing with my boys?  I will work ever harder to be worthy of that gift.  And at the same time, I accept it freely.  Please accept freely anything my family can do for you. 

I say thank you for all the new parents and soon to be parents again, or first timers to Southern Crescent.  You really do love babies and with the love you give them, God will give you more.  Many families are touched by the care you give our babies.

In Christ, John

After reading through this I realize my message was not complete.  Just like God and I are connected I want my kids to be connected to God.  I want them to know that God will be the only one that will not leave or hurt you.  You and I will not be perfect with our children.  We can’t always protect them.  You will probably die before they do.  For our children to be connected to God is more important than their connection to people.  Please help me teach my children this.  Please help me by teaching your children this.  Get them connected to church and God.  Both are more valuable than you and I-they will always be there.   

Thoughts on “Praction- prayer action.” If you’ve not heard the message check out the sermon video for 1-14-07.
1. When we pray heaven is engaged.
2. When we pray our family will be changed/ used/ Christlike

I thought this sermon was important- it was practical, encouraging, and forward thinking as our family recommits to being and doing what God calls us to do, individually and as a team.

Often, I’ve felt that my time is wasted in ministry when prayer is my most consistent daily duty. I think that if I can’t see someone face to face then I can at least improve myself for when I can see them, and then if I can’t do either of these things then I can help someone outside of our family, and then if I can’t do any of those three things then I can at least pray. But I am wrong. To pray for someone is to do the best part of ministry. How can you or I do anything in the presence of someone comparatively to what God can do with our requests, praise, thanks, contemplative and meditative prayers without us? Very little. It is the Spirit of God through us that does anything holy or worthy in life and it is the Spirit of God that does anything holy or worthy through our family and it is the Spirit of God that does anything holy or worthy in others apart from us. In all things the Spirit is active, and in all things our requests for it’s action are heard. I recently read an article in “Leadership” magazine about prayer. The article teaches that prayer is our chief work. It is the most important thing that we as Christians do and should be thought of as something of a service. Time and energy should go into our prayer.
Another article says that God likes to be asked. Like any good loving parent would, God listens closely to a child with needs and understands what they want. He desires our expressions of pain or sadness and consoles us. He wants us to have joy and will honor our requests for it. I will continue to put prayer before everything else in my ministry- you deserve it. Please pray, Thank you! What are your thoughts on prayer? What is your practice in praying?

The flip side is action.  I will write less about this than prayer because I believe you understand this well.  Christian action has and will change this world.  It will change the actor, the audience, the rescepiant, and the church.  Today we live in a post-modern world where religious words are interchangeable and even service is misunderstood as self-improvement, but being continually active for Christ cannot be mistaken for selfishness.  When we are a community that gives, cares for, heals, rebuilds, loves, honors, and blesses others with all we’ve got- no one can mistake our Christlikeness.  And we do it for His glory He will intervene and fill in the gaps. 

God filling in the gaps is what praction is all about.  We will never know the impact our ministry has on the world around us.  God does great things with great effort.  If we give little effort God will still need to teach us a lesson, but when we give great effort, whatever the result, God shows His blessing.

Be about prayer.  Be about action.  Trust in God.

This last Sunday we heard lots of things that inspire us to act out in our faith. “Let us use teamwork to carry out the Goodnews” is something the Spirit used Todd to proclaim Sunday morning. The team concept will help us be healthy. As we get healthy this year let’s;

1. Start with prayer. Consider fasting. Admit giftedness and weaknesses. Commit to let God use you in any way He wants. Get accountable for somene and give accountability to someone.

2. The “Becoming a Contagious Christian” will help our evangelism. Classes like this will explore our giftedness and develop a plan of action in our expressing our Good News to others.

3. Teamwork makes healthy families. Every person performing their function. Every person believing in their role. Challenge yourself to define your role at S.C., write it down, find others to help you perform.

4. Develop compassion for the rest of the family. If you have a gift and note someone like you, encourage them to work beside you. Some are not healthy enough to perform. We need to help those as we move along.

5. We aren’t together enough. Use the new website to connect. Be part of a small group and challenge the group to be a workout more and a hangout less. Both are important but small groups are usually the most important part of a small group congregation.

These are just thoughts. What are your thoughts?

Freedom is something you have when you have it. What I mean is- you control you. You set your pace, your expectations, your schedule. You accept limitations or put in place limitations. You have made decisions and acted on them to become the kind of, the act like, the seem like, the abled, the capable, the likely person that you are. Certainly, your childhood situation and upbringing have set patterns in you that you either continue in or break from but I teach even children that they can mostly be who they want to be. But who does God want you to be?

Yesterday is gone; Praise God for the good and bad in your previous journey. Now, Give God Control! From this moment till the end of your time on earth and into eternity is… Spirit led. Are you (moment by moment) what God wants? Things change in the Spirit. Let God remake you.

As a Christian you may want to reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul. “My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?” Galations 5:16-18

Self-interest verses God’s Spirit. You will always have both. We get to choose the control level. High control or freedom to let God’s Spirit Motivate Your Life.

When others think of you what do they think? What personality traits? What is your schedule? My thought is- If you’ve got to sell a house, give away your stuff, quit your job, make new friends, clear your schedule, become joyful, or whatever! DO IT. Praise God with your life! Do not make barriers for yourself that keep you from living freely in Spirit at any moment.

John

Feel free to share your thoughts. I write these as if I were praying from start to finish. Please feel free to add your thoughts, struggles, disagreements, whatever.

Sacrifice is another word that defines Christ. Following Christ requires us to sacrifice. Not only did Jesus sacrifice by coming to earth, as well as sacrifice his life here for our failures, he also made daily sacrifices for people around him.

A King isn’t normally expected to make sacrifices for his subjects, but our King made it a daily habit. When you walk around observing life Jesus is with you seeing what you see. Make it your habit to look for moments where you can sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others- the Spirit will guide you. You will become more in tune with Christ and the Spirit’s guidance of you with each sacrifice. Others may not appreciate it, so don’t expect them too. Remember! other people can speak for God and Satan, so care much less what they say than what the Spirit is telling you to do.

As you read the Gospels, think about how it must have seemed to Jesus as he sacrificed for other people. Imagine how he viewed other people. Also, think about how Jesus’ actions would have seemed to those around him. His friends and other observers didn’t always understand his sacrifices. People may not understand your sacrifices but the sacrifices will be a blessing to some- those that God is wanting to bless through you.

God is calling you to live a more sacrificial life. In time you will notice the sacrifices God’s people make for Him. Praise those around you who make sacrifices, honor those who live a consistent sacrificial life, and give all Glory to Jesus who constantly sacrifices for all of us. Living more like Christ is the best way for you to honor Him, and sacrificing for others is living more like Christ.

John

Let’s start with compassion. Followers of Christ (of the teachings, the man, the God/man, the savior of the world) know that Jesus Christ was compassionate. Dictionary. com: Compassion- a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

When Jesus encountered someone (anyone/even the dead) that had been hurt by the fallenness of this world or by sin he had compassion on them. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and other writings all show us that Jesus was amazingly compassionate. He cared about people that others would rather forget about. He cared for people unlike him (he knew we were all alike). He cared for people that were weird, smelly, poor, crazy, handicaped (or whatever label we put on people we dislike the most). Jesus has passion and love for all people. When you don’t even love who you are, he loves you. When you wish harm on the worst people in the world, he doesn’t.

This year I am praying that you and I will all have compassion like Jesus Christ. We can have his compassion. It isn’t just because Jesus is the savior that he can do it, it is because on earth he chose to do it. 2007, a year of compassion?

John