John 20:19-29

Poor Thomas gets such a bad rap, simply because he wants to see with his own eyes to all the miracle of Jesus' resurrection. Can you blame him? He'd been an eyewitness to so many other things. He had seen Jesus raise people from the dead. He had seen people be healed of all kinds of diseases and ailments. He'd seen demons cast out of tortured individuals. Of course he wanted to see with his own eyes! He wasn't willing to be told about it. He wanted to live it. He wanted the experience. And until that happened he was going to base his belief on what he had last seen-Jesus dead!

I understand that. I'm the same way. I'm not willing to take somebody else's word for it. I want to breathe it in and out. I want to experience it myself. And maybe that's our role as followers of Christ-to help others experience God themselves.

I firmly believe that the vast majority of agnostics and atheists fail to believe in God because we, the Church, have failed to demonstrate his power and presence in our own lives. Too often we're telling unbelievers a story we've failed to live ourselves. I fail at this regularly! More common than not I find myself doing God's work rather than rather than living out my journey with God-my story of relationship with him.

Thomas got his wish! He got to experience Christ after the resurrection first hand. And Thomas believed because he saw and experienced it for himself. He wasn't scolded or labeled by Jesus. May you live out what you hope for, and may your faith lead to intimacy with the very real God who love you!

CRASH 8/30

Getting ready for tonight's CRASH in the Foundry, and I was thinking through the message. The message is on wonder, discovery and passion-three things teenagers desperately seek out but often is lacking in their worship. I can't help but wonder why? More often than not, I think we accidentally create avenues of worship that lead to destinations of ordinary, knowledge and apathy! Unknowingly we disqualify ourselves from the race prior to the gun blast.

Could the true measure of a follower of Christ be measured by what the Holy Spirit invokes in another's life through you? What are we doing to lead people to the God of all mysteries, the God who is a consuming fire?

John 12:20-36

Change demands sacrifice. Whether the change is good or bad, the catalyst is a spirit of surrender.

Regardless of what we say, we all want change. We all want to be thinner, better, greater, stronger, healthier and faster. But we would like those things at the cost of nothing. We may sacrifice good things for a change in the immediate. Circumstances weigh on us, and we pick what is going to bring the most comfort rather than what's best. We pick the easier path.

Honestly, I just don't like change that costs me anything. Change scares me because I hold so tightly to the illusion of control. I may even allow circumstances to get so bad that an overhaul is demanded, due to my own pride or obstinance. Had I only had a looser grip I could have seen the necessity of the tune-up earlier. Now the cost is so great and I'm overwhelmed by the weight of it.

I think this is why pride is at the core of my every sin. And I think this why God demands my service, because it forces me to look at the needs of others first.

Jesus asks that we sacrifice our rights in order to serve him. This isn't unusual for a king. But Jesus offers the keys to the kingdom-something no other king would ever do. We are called joint heirs with Christ: children of the King

The choice to follow Jesus is hard. All change is. But the reward is so much greater. May we learn to become loose-handed on the reins of our life, choosing to hold the hands of the savior instead.

I hate snakes.......

I'm thinking about using this for a series we're doing in the Spring. ANd I couldn't agree more. I hate snakes!!!!!!

Thanks to Perry Noble and Newspring church in Anderson, SC!

5 Lies of the devil message video, the snake from NewSpring Production on Vimeo.

John 10:1-18

John 10 conjures up good memories for me. The first bible study I ever led was on John 10 and no, it was not very good! My youth pastor had to bail me out as I struggled with the passage. He simply drew a circle but didn't completely connect it-he left a very small gap. He told me this was the pen in which the sheep were kept. Then he asked me one question: "Who's in the gap?"

The gap is an important place. The walls provide safety and security, but the sheep can only enter and exit through the narrow gap. At night, when the sheep are fast asleep, the gap remains open. The sheep need the gap. Life can't be lived exclusively inside or outside the pen. It's necessary to have both. Only the shepherd stands in the way of anything going in or the sheep wandering out. Only the shepherd knows the right time to be within the safety of the walls and when the sheep need to graze or find water.

You get the point: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. John 10 tells us the sheep know him, follow him in and out, and he's in the gap. It's a very good thing to be in the hands of the Good Shepherd.

But Christ asked us to live as he lives, to do as he does. My question is this: Who are you standing in the gap for? Whose soul are you the first line of defense for? Who are you leading and influencing? Who are you caring for and watching after?

I'm grateful for many people who've done this for me, but I want to send special thanks to Kenny Hale for being a shepherd to me and bringing this lesson home to me when I was only a teenager!