Read this from Oswald Chambers this morning. It just reinstates to me that everything is about the cross of Christ. Jesus wasn’t just a good man, His mission from the start was to become a human sacrifice & to shed His blood on a nasty cross for us. For without this, I would have a sin debt to God only payable by an eternity in Hell. If we get away from that – our message is powerless. It may be cute & clever but won’t change lives.

“State your beliefs to yourself again. Get back to the foundation of the Cross of Christ, doing away with any belief not based on it. In secular history the Cross is an infinitesimally small thing, but from the biblical perspective it is of more importance than all the empires of the world. If we get away from dwelling on the tragedy of God on the Cross in our preaching, our preaching produces nothing. It will not transmit the energy of God to man; it may be interesting, but it will have no power. However, when we preach the Cross, the energy of God is released. “. . . it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. . . . we preach Christ crucified . . .” – Oswald Chambers ( 1 Corinthians 1:21, 23 taken from: http://rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/11/25/devotion.aspx?year=2009).

I STILL believe the words of Paul — “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the POWER OF GOD for salvation to everyone who believes…” ( Romans 1:16, esv)

No cross, no power

The other day I did something incredibly stupid (imagine that). I pulled up to pump #1 and went inside to pay for my gas. When I got back, I noticed my keys sitting in my seat… and my door was locked.  Frustrated and embarrassed, I tried to jimmy a coat hanger inside my window. I was frustrated, impatient, I had run way over on my lunch break time, and it wasnt working! I didnt have money to call a locksmith nor did I have time to wait for one. At this point, time was money for me.

So I prayed and asked God for help…

I didnt know how, and it may have sounded ridiculous at the time, but I knew God would help. If we pray something we should believe it (just a thought). A few seconds later, a guy pulls up in a truck, and walks over my way. “I used to have a truck just like that”, he says to me. “Used to lock my keys inside all the time, here’s how I use to have to do it.” He proceeds to show me exactly where to insert the coat hanger. I was able to pop the lock and get back to work in no time.

I know you probably dont care, but I JUST listened to a message that morning on God caring about the little things in our life; even something as small as locking the keys in the car. I dont know who that guy was but he came to help the second I asked God for help. For that I am grateful.

How easy would it have been to thank the guy, hop in my truck and go back to work – never noticing that it was actually GOD that came to my aid. It’s easier to see God in the BIG things in life over the little things. There’s no mistake, He is in both. Yet the small blessings go unnoticed all the time. James tells us that EVERY good thing comes from God… no matter how big or small. Take a moment and thank Him for a few little things in your life that you have taken for granted.

It doesnt matter who you are – to some degree, you care about what others think of you… self vindication is a vicious cycle. Why do we care so much about what others think?!? It can consume us and become a huge distraction in our relationship with God. Consider the words of St. Augustine..

St. Augustine prayed, “O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.” Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, “I must explain myself,” or, “I must get people to understand.” Our Lord never explained anything- He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves. (taken from: rbc.org)

• People are not going to always agree with you
• People are not always going to like you
• People are not always going to approve of what you say & do

Perry Noble once said this, “Study the Scriptures, pray like crazy, listen to God and then speak with authority. You WILL offend someone…either the people because you speak truth, OR, you will offend God in an attempt to keep the religious comfortable.”

The real questions isn’t what will “they” think, but what will God think?  I heard Charles Stanley say this years ago, and its stuck with me ever since, “Obey God and leave all the consequences up to Him”. If you are consumed with what others may think, and are imprisoned in self vindication – your dreams of really following God may be in vain.

This picture was taken on Lily’s favorite ride, The People Mover. Shortly after it was over, we made our way to find a spot for the parade. 90 minutes before it started we had tons of space, as time passed by it got more & more crowded.  People inched in to personal space trying to get a good seat. I don’t know how it happened, but when we got there we had 8 ft of space on Main Street… when it finally started we had about four at best.

If you’re not careful, without knowing what happened, people will edge themselves into your personal space! People care more about themselves then they do about your family. We have got to do what we can to guard our space, our time with the family that God has entrusted to us. If we are successful in everything else, but fail in our family – WE FAIL!

Satan will bring along many “good things” in order to steal time away from your family. Can I be transparent?? This is an area I struggle with. God nailed me on this subject at Catalyst in October. Message after message, God was showing me how precious my family is. Rob Bell reminded me that my children deserve more than scraps  from my schedule! If we let Satan take that from us… what else is there? Seriously -  what else?!? Sadly, many “pastors” think there are more important things than their families. As the space on the sidewalk so quickly shrunk, so will our precious time with our family if we were not careful. Watch out, be on guard, & protect that space!! There are no excuses that are good enough for your spouse, your children, or God who holds you accountable.

Today on my lunch break I headed downtown to see John Huff, first time in about 8 weeks. I use to get to hang with John every week – every Friday to be exact.

Tomorrow is Johns birthday, he will be 65! I know he would love for you to stop by and say hello.

I know tomorrow is also Saturday, you’ve got the yard to fix up, a garage to clean out, light bulbs to replace, and a honey do list a mile long.

99% of the time John does nothing but hang out at a nursing home by himself. He told me today that on his birthday tomorrow he is supposed to be leaving with his sister for a few hours at 2.

If you have time & can break away from all the hussel and bussel of a Saturday, swing by and wish him a Happy Birthday. Here’s the address:

Cathedral Convalescent Center
333 East Ashley Street
Jacksonville Florida 32202
Phone: 904-798-5300

p.s. – if you really want to make his day, bring him some black coffee!

If you have time to break away on a Saturday…

On Sunday November 15th East Coast Church had its second preview service.  I spoke on The Good Samaritan from Luke 10. The Good Samaritan has “love your neighbor” written all over it, but in context it has everything to do with The Gospel! This was heavy on my heart in preparation. Before the service there was a young man named Ben that was walking by the theater, some of our East Coast greeters invited him inside. After grabbing a doughnut and a cup of coffee Ben came inside where he heard the gospel. After the service he prayed and gave his life to Christ!! THIS is worth it all – THIS is why we do what we do!

I spoke with Ben on the phone earlier this week, he seems to be doing well. I cant wait to see What God does in his life and how he fits into the Body of Christ! Yesterday I was brought to tears as I was driving down JTB. I got a text that one of our members told me that he has contacted Ben and they are hanging out together to watch some football this weekend. That’s what ministry is all about, living for others and pouring your life into them.

Every time I turn around I see God moving – I see Him working! I am so thankful for those who have caught the vision and are working hard to make it come to fruition. For me its a privilege to be involved in the journey of church planting. It’s exhausting, but sooo exhilarating!

If you want to listen to this weeks message you can listen online here. Our next preview service is December 13th at 10am located in the historical San Marco Theater in downtown San Marco. For more details visit www.eastcoastchurch.net

Watch Matt Chandler share a message from Hebrews 11 as he speaks to those in ministry.

I have a friend in Port St Lucie Florida that started a church over 6 months ago –> Discovery Church. The church is lead by 25 year old pastor Tim OCarroll. I am asking prayer for him as the school they were meeting in gave him a few weeks to find another location. Will you join me in praying for Tim and Discovery Church? Heres what you can pray for

• Pray for Tim’s leadership as he tries to lead the church in a time where he probably can’t see too clearly himself
• Pray for his family
• Pray for Discovery Church that they would be able to see the hand of God
• Pray for them to find a facility to meet in this sunday!

God is faithful and takes us through times of testing – this is a test for them. As you know, God ALWAYS lets us know that He is in control – often in just the nick of time

If you would pray for my friend Tim, I would be grateful! Drop him an email to let him know you are praying for them: tim@discoverypsl.com

Here is a quote from a man in whom most of his writings never became famous until after his death. His name is Oswald Chambers, and his devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest” is one of the most widely read devotional books of all time.  This is what I read in the October 31st entry…

“Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character has to be cleared in our own minds.”

Would we ever say anything that would put a mark on Gods character? No! —but we think it. If we REALLY believed Gods character to be true and perfect, fully worthy of trust… then we would trust Him. The real problem lies not with trusting God, but with trusting His character.

Does God have any character flaws??

Ill let you answer that & let it lead you to a wrestling match of why you don’t trust Him…

My Father-n-law gave this to my 6 year old this summer, adding to her confusion. I thought he needed to borrow one of Lily’s shirts in honor of the big game this weekend…