…depended on me?

On October 25, I will be sitting down with the students of Tapestry Church. The goal of our conversation will be to begin the dialogue of what the mission of this ministry is all about. As I’ve prayed and listened the following questions came to mind:

1. What if the world depended on ME to hear the Gospel?
2. How did the first disciples feel when Jesus ascended into heaven and were left with the task to spread the Good News?
3. What if the Tapestry Student ministry were the only one in town – what would we do to reach this generation?

Go back to my first question. How do you answer it?

Luke 24:45-49 in The Message reads:

45-49He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, “You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You’re the first to hear and see it. You’re the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until he arrives, until you’re equipped with power from on high.”

Have you waited… Has the power of the wind passed you by… Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit?

We have been chosen to be God’s instruments to show the way to a complete life… A life in Jesus Christ.

Can the world look to you?

I discovered last night as I wrote a portion of my story out for a brother of mine (God has blessed me with in recent weeks) that my story is really no different than his. He sent me a reply sharing a chapter of his with me. The cool thing about our stories is that there is one key character in both.

I discovered just like my friend that our lives have been written with an end in mind. Without this central figure in our lives our story would lack meaning, hope, and victory.

One of the greatest honors in life is to be able to share my story with someone else. I was given that opportunity today. I’m not talking about sharing the laundry list of my problems or the particulars of my failures. But rather the part where I found hope to live another day. My story is one of brokenness that has been changed by grace and love.

The story I have to tell is not really mine… It’s really the story of Jesus that has been written out in the pages of my own life. Jesus – he is the writer and now I’m a charcter in his play. He is the one who has the power to make all things new… To make me a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Who is the main character in your story? Is it you? Is it your hurt, brokenness, and despair? Or is it Jesus?

If the main character is anything but Jesus, I ask you to take a moment and begin reading in the Bible. Read Matthew and ask Jesus to show himself to you.

He loves you and deeply cares about how your story ends.

Last weekend I was hanging out with friends at their home. It was overcast most of the day. I like dark and dreary days… I love rainy days even more!

My son was alarmed by the sky and afraid it was going to rain. He wanted to swim and didn’t want his fun in the pool spoiled with bad weather. He looked at me and said, “I’m going to pray that it doesn’t rain.” I smiled and said, “You do that buddy and I’m going to pray that it rains.”

Well, it wasn’t much longer before the rain began. He was in the house at the time it started. He came outside and said, “Why did you win?” I could see the disappointment on his face and hear it in the tone of his voice.

My response to him was: “Turn around and look up at the sky. God is giving you right now the blue sky you have asked for. You see, God has answered both of our prayers today. He loves us both and desires to give us both the desires of our hearts.”

I love my son! He is 7 years old. As his Dad I want to give him everything his little heart desires. But more than the stuff he wants to play with I want to give him Jesus. I want to make the most of every opportunity so he can grow strong in his faith, understanding of God, and the love God has for him. He is learning to seek God in all things. At 7 years of age, I’m excited to see him learn to pray. I know God has great plans for him…

God has great plans for all of us. When life all around is looking dark and dreary… When the rains begin to fall… Don’t give up hope! Cling to these words found in the Bible,

“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34, The Message).

Do you ever watch the news and wonder what was really said? I do. I want to know the context of the sound bite the networks show us.

I recall attending the Inauguration for George W Bush’s first term. I was amazed at my experience! It is by far one of the greatest moments of my life. If you weren’t there then you didn’t really see and hear what all I got to see and hear. You saw what the networks wanted you to see.

To a degree lately I’ve been living my life feeding off of one sound bite after the other. I’m not talking news but rather small little quotes from books and Twitter. My journal is starting to gather quite the collection.

Most that make the journal are powerful bites that are more like an energy drink (I guess… Although I’ve never had an energy drink). They are great for the moment until the next one comes across my eyes and makes me stop and think for a minute.

We can’t live our lives and remain healthy if all I do is eat little snacks all day long. There comes a time when one has to sit down for a meal. It’s the same for our spiritual lives. We need to take time daily to dine with our Heavenly Father. Then take what He gives us to someone else.

So, in this world of sound bites and Twitter that we live in – remember – that when Jesus says, “Come be my disciples. I will show you how to fish for people.” He didn’t show his disciples how in 140 charcters or less. It was a painful process that took getting involved in the lives of others. It involved courage and risk that led to him giving his life for them and us.

Let me leave you with a “sound bite” from Bill Hybels book Holy Discontent,

“If something is worth giving your life to, it will inherently involve a high level of risk.”(86).