Life Investment

As followers of Christ who have been found by God, we are called to go out and find people who are far away from His heart. People matter to God, therefore they had better matter to us. I'm not just talking about Christians either, the lost matter to God as well. So many times, I've seen churches forsake the Gospel and close their doors to the world and just worry about the salvation of those who have already received it. The Gospel is much more than a sermon in a pew or singing songs. It's about actively and intently loving people with the love of Christ and showing them what that love looks like in the kingdom of God. For God so loved us, we who are born of Adamic blood, that is the blood of Adam who fell in Eden, He actively and passionately pursued us, so much so, that He gave apart of His own self to die through the redemptive act of the cross. Those who have accepted Christ as Lord, are commanded that we do the same. Christ paved the way for salvation, and thus we must continue the work and expand His kingdom. Not for the sake of numbers for the church, but for the sake of numbers for eternity. Everyone needs a rescue from something, whether it be sickness, addiction or pain. Life change is brought only when surrender is given and trust is established. Often times, we forget that it is God who saves, and not us. In order for found people to find people, we have to invest in their lives.

People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Before "popping the question" so to speak on a non-believer, a connection and relationship must be established. It is symbolic with your relationship with Christ. You know Him through His word, accept Him by what He has done, and trust Him in what He will do and what He promises. One of the key principles in discipleship that is crucial to not only in growth with ourselves and God, but with others and their relationship with God is community. Community with other believers to not only worship as one body but also to grow in relation with others as God commands and to grow in relationship to Him. Small groups are an example of this, where we hold each other accountable and exchange wisdom in areas of struggle. Also, community with non-believers, that is, in the sense of intently seeking relationship and reaching out to that person. It can be intimidating, sharing your faith with someone who has never heard the gospel, or someone who is familiar with it and chooses to reject it, which is why building relationship is soo crucial. For 3 months, challenge yourself to find just one person, and just invest in that person. What does it mean to invest? Just like when you invest in a company, it collects interest, and often times it will go through seasons of change and fluctuations. Investing simply means that you realize that the person you are investing in, matters more to you and to God than your own self. To invest simply means to sacrifice your time, talents and maybe even finances at times. Time is the most critical. Making yourself available to someone shows to them that they not only matter to you, but also to God because you took the time and effort to actively pursue that person, and God will honor that.

I often think back when I first accepted Christ. I remember sitting in my uncle's living room, unsure of what I was getting myself into. He read me a couple passages of scripture and at the time, I'll be honest, I had no idea what any of it meant. One thing that stuck out the most though was he took the time with me, and I knew he cared about me. It can be real easy to open up the bible and throw out every verse you can think of, but if that heart is not prepared for it, then chances are it will not recieve it. Love never just happens, it is learned. It is taught. To be do-ers of the Word, and not just hearers, We must know what it means to obey and teach what Jesus taught. How can we do this, if we don't know what He taught. In order for us to pass it on, it must first be in us.

Thank you for reading, God bless you.
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Love Sparks

How does one measure a day? Is it by seconds? Minutes? Hours? Or is it measured by something more? Something more than mere digits. Something timeless. For me, it's measured by brief moments where time blurs out of focus and all recollection of it fades. It's a smile, it's heartbeats. It's love sparks. A day in my life holds no adventures, and no adventure can truly describe one's self. It's in the small things that I truly show who I am, from laughter to butterscotch kisses. To moments shared with someone laughing over absolutely nothing. To moments when you first wake up, and the first thing you hear a voice like a song sung to you as a child whenever you felt alone or afraid. A voice that makes you feel.  When you're with a person that matters most, time holds no bearing, nor does it have meaning except when that moment is as it's end. When time was all you had to worry about, schedules, meetings and deadlines, to have been met by one that makes all of that not matter anymore is something ineffable. To have been met by one that changes your entire life the instant you encounter them, that give you a whole new perspective on everything. Someone who unknowingly heals the wounds in your soul left by others with false promises and shattered memories. Love is waking up and feeling the warmth of the person next to you, or the soft kiss in the dark of the night that sends you into a trance of reliving the day just spent. Love, as God intended, permeates the soul and instills in you the desire to be better for that person. Love isn't in the fear of losing that person, but in the security of knowing you won't. To truly experience this is one of God's greatest gifts and pleasures, that has unfortunately been taken for granted or perverted into something else entirely. It's the collection of the simple things that magnify the bigger things. I can honestly say in my own personal life, I have been met by one who does this for me daily. Someone for the very first time, I can look at and admit what my heart has been desperately desiring to admit. I can admit what I feel to her whenever I look at her, with no fear of rejection or judgement. I can for once be myself, and she gives me freedom. She has given me a joy and happiness that I've never experienced outside the glory of God, and she gives me peace. She is everything that I ever hoped, asked and prayed for. To me, she means the world.

Men are often looked down upon for admitting what they feel, because it's often viewed as a sign of weakness and vulnerability. This is a lie developed by the enemy. I see it as strength. A form of freedom and masculinity in the form of the love of Christ. Women are something to be treasured and celebrated, not seen or viewed as what the media depicts them. They are to be enjoyed and cherished, not scrutinized or "fixed". Adam was with Eve in the garden when they fell, and rather than pointing the finger they both took the fall. He was there for her. God calls us to "Love our wives as Christ loved the church" (Eph 5:25) Which would mean sacrificing everything for her. In certain translations of the Greek use of the word "love" in this sense, it is literally translated to "to love dearly, to be well pleased or contented with something. Beloved." God desires all of us to know and be known intimately without fear of rejection or judgement. I thank God for bringing her to me, and for allowing me know someone like that. Someone whom I can share adventures with, laugh about everything and just enjoy life abundantly. A person where laying in bed with for hours is more appealing than a night on the town. Someone to worship the God of the Universe with, and bring glory to His name and make a difference in the lives of others.

Rebekah, if you're reading this, I love you darling. Thank you for coming to my rescue, and being everything I've ever needed.

Making Space

This month my church Northstar is doing a series entitled "Make Space" and is basically going to be explaining how to make space in our lives and remove the unnecessary clutter that sometimes takes up our time and energy. This series couldn't have come at a better time for me because I have SO much clutter in my own personal life that it's not even funny. Last year especially, came with a lot of baggage. Last night at worship rehearsal at our East Bay Campus, Pastor Adam Carter rallied the troops as he always does every Friday night with an encouraging message and a take charge speech. He shared that he recently cleaned out his garage and it gives him the peace of mind knowing that a lot of the useless, unnecessary and unneeded junk was removed, and he now has room to invite people over for ping pong. Although this is seems like a trivial thing, it's very indicative of our own lives.We get so caught up in business meetings, traffic, errands and commitments that we fill our lives up with a hectic schedule and a busy attitude. The more room we take up with these things, the less room we have for ourselves, and more importantly, less room for God.

I had lunch the other day with a long time friend and spiritual mentor of mine, Eric Schrotenboer. This dude has been with me on my walk with Christ from the beginning and has been such a huge blessing to me in my life. When I first met Eric, I knew there something different about him. It wasn't him that was different but something through him that I couldn't explain any way but different. At the time, my walk with Christ had literally just begun and I wasn't at the level of understanding what it was that set him apart from every average person I met. Eric made time for me, no matter what was going on. If I invited him to an event, he would show up. He never said I'm too busy or give me a false yes, he showed up every time. To this day, if I ask him to go to lunch, or just to talk, he'd make time for me. This is SO critical in making relationships with people: making time. Being available to someone means more than "rain check". Being available speaks in volumes to someone more than it is apparent. In the life of Jesus, He always made Himself available. To the blind man, He didn't say that he would catch him later, or that He was too busy. To the leper, He didn't say that He'd love to but _____. He made time. Now, many will argue that Jesus didn't have a job, or kids or school or family to worry about, and while this is true, Luke 9:62 tells us "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God". Basically, if you want to make or keep relationships, you better be available.

I always enjoy having lunch with Eric because whenever we get together we discuss life, theology, ministry, the places we've been and stories we have. I love having lunch with any good friend of mine because in that moment, we are experiencing what God desires for us: community. Which also is a foundation for discipleship. In that moment we both take a small pause in the busy schedule and just breathe and enjoy the simpler things in life that God offers to us freely.Salvation and Discipleship are 2 different things. Salvation is a free gift, we can choose to accept it, but discipleship is a choice that we must diligently work at. We can be safe  by ourselves with eternal life, or we can go out and touch a life who in turn might touch another life, and then we eat at our table in Heaven with all the people we loved in life that we took the time to reach. Community means making time. Relationships require time to grow and to work. Time means being available. Being available means making space. How do we make space? That starts by looking into ourselves and recognizing what needs to go. Do you really need that 3 hours of tv? Or can you call a friend and ask how you can pray for them? Simple things. That's all it really takes. In my own life, I have a lot to sort out but the important thing is I'm making the time to do so, and that is where God comes in and takes care of the rest.

Looking Back: 2012

God has been doing amazing things in the life of Northstar Church, and to hear our lead pastor Marty Martin share such amazing testimonies throughout last year was truly a surreal moment. Last year, over 1,000 people have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and close to 200 people have baptized. We were not only able to launch the East Bay Campus, and it get it started, but also the Panama City Beach Campus within such a short amount of time, that I could describe as God's timing and blessing. We were able to raise $2 million dollars through the faithful giving of our Bold Love initiative, and give $15,000 to build 2 foundations for 2 houses for Habitat For Humanity for 2 families. We were able to buy a toy for EVERY single foster child in bay county, which was well over $3,000. We were able to start 2 partner churches in Boca Raton, Florida, and in Boston, which is 2 demographically unchurched areas. We were able to provide our adopted village in Kiu, Kenya with the means to have clean drinking water to be processed throughout the whole village. I can help but stand in awe of what God has accomplished through our church, and it's very amazing to know that God has blessed us to be able to not only spread the Word, but live it out and love on people and help them to see Jesus. I started going to Northstar well over 3 years ago now, back when the Panama City Campus was just regular Northstar, and the idea of starting campuses haven't even been conceived of yet. Back when they had Axis Student Ministries. It's very surreal to think that now we have 3 campuses around our city to be able to go directly  into the different communities and minister to the lost and the needy. To be beacons of hope in the community, and not for the glory of our church, but to see God and His Son glorified through us. That is why I love and serve so faithfully in my church, because we are a church that exists to help the whole find and follow Jesus. Northstar is a place where everyone is welcome, nobody is perfect and anything is possible. We exist to serve and love not only our God but our fellow neighbors. Northstar is a church that gets it, for me. I am honored and blessed to be apart of it, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year in 2013. I am ready to see lives changed, chains broken, and people set free. Until the whole world knows about Jesus, we will not stop doing what we're doing, and to me, that gives me life more abundantly.