Kingdoms and Canaries
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever....
Read MoreA Freedom That Changes Us
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek...
Read MoreCreated to Thrive and be Free (Steps 4 & 5)
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalms 32:3–5 Everybody is born with an innate desire to be more than just ok, to thrive. Everybody is born with a longing to be free. Ok, so if we just make that happen we will solve all the worlds problems, right? Unfortunately, no. It’s not that simple. It depends...
Read MoreFreedom: Commitment (Steps 1-3)
Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. . . . the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” . . . . Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and...
Read MoreEverybody Has A Drug of Choice
You and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness. C.S. Lewis –The Weight of Glory Jesus said a lot of amazing things — and he backed them up with actions, miracles and healings. Some things — many of the things — he said are troubling, hard to deal with. And so, we often dismiss them or don’t take them as seriously as he meant us to. One of those was the pathway he gave us to a meaningful life, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:35)....
Read MoreJourney To Freedom
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. Ephesians 4:1; Galatians 5:13 The gospel is all about freedom. As followers of Jesus we are called to live into God’s intention of freedom. The freedom that he offers is not a mere spiritual freedom, but a practical one; freedom that effects every area of your life and that leads, Jesus says to “more and better life than you could ever imagine.” (John 10:10 The MESSAGE) God wants you to experience this kind of freedom, and so he...
Read MoreTime to Go — with God
When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He...
Read MoreOur God Is Able
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. LJude 24-25 It is a sad reality that people who seek to do justice often do damage in the process. That makes sense, actually. You see, the thing about injustice is that it is, well, unjust. If the injustice is something that you are passionate about it will make you angry. And so, as we move to be people who live out our...
Read MoreLove In Action
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:33–34 Let’s get real, Jesus’ response would not be my response. My response would be so much different, harsher, vengeful. Jesus response seems impossible, almost wrong. And because I don’t want to deal with the real reasons why that is, I instinctively hang that on the divine part of the fully God and fully man Jesus. Maybe I do that with other things that Jesus says...
Read MoreWho is my neighbor?
In Luke 10, “Who is my neighbor?” was the question of a man trying to “get out of” something. Out of responsibility, out of being burdened, out of caring for too many or too much. In Redmond WA that same question could change the way you and I think about our entire lives. Christians are meant to ask that question as a way to get “into” something. A way to get into what it means to love the Lord with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. A Way to get into the life giving reality of being, as the Apostle Paul suggests in almost the entire New Testament, IN Christ. Who is my neighbor? Is a...
Read More