It shouldn’t make sense

Getting ready to spend next week in D.C. on a missions trip.  Which involves helping the homeless, helping with about 50 kids at a day camp in one of the poorest areas in D.C., and service projects at a local church/urban ministry there.  This week it’s been interesting telling co-workers and other acquaintances about being off work next week.  They usually say, “Oh vacation huh?  Where you going?”  And when I tell them what I’m doing it kinda just makes them go “huh?” 

Huh??

And that’s just it.  To unbelievers, my life shouldn’t make any sense.  My life should be a complete contradiction to the world’s view of love, happiness, money, successs, and so on.  When people look at your life, do they see something different about you and the way you spend your leisure time and money, and the way you treat others?  Or do they see someone that fits right in with everyone else?  When Jesus came in contact with people their lives were transformed.  Are other people’s lives changed or positively affected just by knowing you and being around you?  We may not “belong” here, but we are called to be “salt” (Matt 5:13) and “light” (Matt 5:14-16). 

Crazy Love

I’m halfway through Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love and it is amazing.   You can go to his website for the book here.  From there you can check out some chapter introduction videos.  This book has really made me examine my heart and has me asking myself the hard questions about my relationship with God.  I really recommend this book to everyone who is searching, hungering, thirsting for more of God.  I am posting a sermon from Francis here for you to check out.  It’s a little over 30 minutes, but, if your serious about your relationship with God, you may find yourself having a great conversation with Him at the end of it.  I loved the sermon so much I wanted to share it with everyone that stumbles onto my blog by making a page for it too. 

Funny Friday

Summer Reading

Lots of summer reading going on for me.  Here are several books that I am currently reading.  Yes I know it’s not good to start and stop so many but that’s me and they are all so interesting.

• The Bible-currently the book of James and Matthew -sermon on the mount.  Meaty
• So You Want to Be Like Christ-Eight essentials to get you there by Charles Swindoll.
• I Sold My Soul On Ebay-Hemant Mehta-very interesting observations from an atheist.
• Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners by Greg Laurie-great Bible Study
• Everything But The Burden-What White People are Taking From Black Culture-found this at the dollar store!  Very inciteful and interesting
• Crazy Love-Francis Chan-This book is blowing me away.  I didn’t think I could come across another book that speaks so directly to me like the last book from Vince Antonucci’s”Lousy T shirt ” book.
• I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt-Vince Antonucci-Yep, reading it again.

Anybody else read any of these?

New music

 Just some new music I came across this weekend.  Good stuff. 

Tenth Avenue North

Fireflight

Addison Road

Matt Maher

ODSM Heroes In Action?

Does anyone from the ODSM recognize these guys?

The meaning of dying to self

I came across this interesting paragraph from John Fischer’s book On A Hill Too Far Away.  Just a thought for the day.

“The meaning of dying to self has to be something as obvious as the fact that…I die.  I cease to be.  I have to step over my body to get on with my life.  I am no longer the reason for my existence.  I am no longer concerned with my own happiness.  How can you be concerned with the happiness of someone who is dead?  I am no more.  I am no longer in the picture.  I am no longer the center of my own little universe.  I no longer arrange the world around my self.  Go to the place you used to find [insert your name here] and you won’t find him anymore.  He’s dead…Come to where you used to find me, and you should find Christ instead, living and caring for others at the expence of himself, like He always did”-from the book On A Hill Too Far Away

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

“Take up the cross” is a daily thing.  I have to remind myself every day and apply this thinking in every part of my life which includes my marriage, parenting, etc.  I really find myself failing at this at times.  Another interesting thought from the book is that no one in history ever half-died on a cross.  Eventually the Roman soldiers came by and broke your legs to speed up the process.  They didn’t take anyone down until they were dead.