Re-Cap of 'From the Inside-Out'

I wanted to give a quick re-cap on the message from the HUB last night for 2 reasons:

      1. It’s an important message that is easy to mis-understand

      2. I had the flu and my squeaky voice might have distracted you because it certainly was distracting ME!

Here’s the message in 7 points. Enjoy:

       Your Focus will Form your Future.

Your direction in life will be determined by what you FOCUS on.

Ask yourself: “What am I focusing on?”

       As Christians, we’re simply called to focus on Jesus.

The crazy thing is, it’s easy to get out of focus.  Check yourself

       The problem of the ‘Rich Man’ in Luke 18 wasn’t his MONEY, it was his FOCUS

Read Luke 18:18-23. 

The problem wasn’t that this man had money; the problem was, his CASH was keeping him from focusing on JESUS

       The message of Jesus isn’t ‘DO’ it’s ‘TURN’

People who see Church as religious think the Church wants them to DO

However, religion says DO but Jesus says DONE. (@Propaganda #Hashtag)

The message of Jesus (and the Church) isn’t ‘DO’ it’s ‘TURN’.  He’s concerned with you shifting your focus to Him.  He wants you to see him, to turn to him.  LOOK at JESUS

       DOING changes you from the OUTSIDE-IN, TURNING changes you from the INSIDE-OUT

Grace is not about staying the same.  Grace accepts you the way you are, but loves you WAY TOO MUCH to let you stay there.

If you focus on Jesus, you change - but not from the outside in, it's REAL change. From the INSIDE-OUT

** It’s impossible to look to Jesus and live in sin at the same time.  #hello

       Jesus moves towards those who look to Him in Faith.

Read Luke 19:1-9

The Bible says Zacchaeus, un-like the Rich Man, just wanted to 'Look at Jesus'

When he looked at Jesus in Faith, Jesus moved toward him, called him by name and came to his home

I wish our generation would stop focusing on what’s wrong with them, and instead focus on what’s right with Jesus

*Notice that Zaccheaus did what the Rich Man couldn't; He gave his wealth away.  He was CHANGED as he focused on Jesus

       What’s CAPTIVATING you more than CHRIST?

Is there something in your life that's captivating your focus MORE than Jesus?

I want to challenge you to take a deep breath.  Turn from whatever your focusing on and fix your eyes on the King.

When you live this way - day in and day out, looking to Him, honouring him, reading his word, talking to him etc… watch Jesus begin to transform you into who you were created to be.  

From the Inside-Out

Love ya.

K.

Leaders, Followers, Decisions + Honor

I'm a little nervous about this post,

Why? Because I have little right to speak into your life when it comes to leadership - especially when we have access to so much great content from leaders all over the world.

HOWEVER, something hit me while I was driving home from work yesterday that I think will be helpful to young/inexperienced leaders like myself + I'd love to share it with you:

Great LEADERS are great FOLLOWERS and great FOLLOWERS make DECISIONS that HONOR their leader.

First of all, what makes a great leader?  A great follower!

As a young pastor, I have many in authority above me. The strength of my leadership is my ability to follow, obey + assist my leaders. And ULTIMATELY I follow Jesus. In fact, I follow my leaders because they follow Jesus.

Secondly, All great leaders are GREAT decision makers.

I found that my leadership increased as my ability to make wise decisions increased. Making decisions, small or large, increased my influence - especially when those decisions added value to the people around me.

FINALLY comes the big problem I see and the question we should ask:

Many young leaders are HESITANT to make any decision, especially big decisions.

Should I buy this car?
Should I pray for this person? Is it appropriate? What will they think?
Should I order the fillet minion or the chicken strips?

This hesitation is DECREASING young leaders influence.

So how do we learn to make right decisions?  I believe its really easy.

Always make the decision that HONORS your leader.

When I'm faced with a challenging decision I always ask these two questions:

Is this choice honoring to my Pastor?
Is this choice honoring to God?

Since all I'm doing is leading people to the person I follow - it's easy to make wise decisions.

So lead by following, follow by deciding, and decide by honoring.

K.

"Called" or "On Call"?

2 Timothy 1:9 "For God saved us AND called us to live a holy life."

I would hate working at a job that put me "On Call".  It literary makes no sense.

When you're "on call" - you're not WORKING. You're not using your talents, your skills or your abilities... you're not even getting paid. You're just sitting... waiting for the phone to ring.  And the reality is, sometimes the phone NEVER rings.

I think far to many Christians live "On Call"

Think about it.  We KNOW what we WON'T do.  "I don't go to those kind of parties" - "I don't Smoke" - "I don't talk like that" etc...

And the world asks, "Why not?"

And we say, "Well... Because I'm "On Call"... That's just not what a Christian does."

That's all fine and good... but here's the point, what do you say when the world asks: "Well, who are you then? What DO you DO?"

Too many of us describe our Faith by saying who we AREN'T instead of describing WHO WE ARE.  We live "On Call" - We're sitting around, waiting patiently for Jesus to appear and tell us what to do. We're simply "on reserve" so to speak; steering clear from sin but wildly IN-ACTIVE in our faith.

But there's some good news. The Bible says that Jesus didn't put us "on call", Jesus picked up the phone and CALLED US!

You are Called.

Called people don't talk about who they AREN'T, they talk about WHO THEY ARE.

Called people don't sit around waiting for Jesus to show up.  They realized he SHOWED UP - they trust Him, they move for Him and they become His HANDS and FEET wherever they're at in life.

Being called is not about the BIG THING God want's you to do.  It's about being faithful with living for Jesus every day. It's about understanding that God has placed you at your Job, your School, or your Church for a HIGHER PURPOSE and TODAY is the day to reach people far from God wherever you're at in life.

So don't worry about missing the BIG THING God has for you.  Understand that you're CALLED today. Be faithful in the little things, the little conversations, the every-day opportunities to love.

Consider yourself called.

K.

Busy?

Philippians 4:9 "Be anxious in nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

I find it increasingly interesting that when I ask, "How are you doing" to people around me, close to 9 out of 10 give me the answer, "BUSY"

I'm like... Really? You're not GOOD, you're not BAD, you're not EXCITED, you're not FRUSTRATED... you're busy...

I'll tell you what that word means to me - out of control.

If you're busy you're anxious. Life is coming at you so fast that you can't handle it, and you feel OVERWHELMED.  Busy means - "I HATE WHERE MY LIFE IS AT RIGHT NOW."

And yet - 9 out of 10 people, without fail, say "Busy"

This is a problem.

The funny thing is, I don't think this 90% statistic of busy people says that 90% of people are totally overwhelmed and out of control - I think "busy" is just the new cool word to say.

Busy makes you feel IMPORTANT.  If we say we're busy, people think that we have "important things to do", it's a mask we put on to cover our laziness or self-consciousness.  Probably half of the people who tell me they're busy don't have kids... or jobs for that matter. lol.

Here's the point: Let's take the word "busy" out of our vocabulary.  Instead of sounding like we're OUT OF CONTROL let's remain IN CONTROL of our lives!  There's a thought.

Instead of "Busy" let's say "My schedules pretty full"

Instead of "Busy" let's say "HAPPY", "GREAT", "FANTASTIC" Let's speak some positive words over our life.

Instead of "Busy" let's say "It's a frustrating season" Let's be honest and get real. I'm all good with that.

The Bible says "Be anxious in nothing", in other words, Don't vent to others about how busy you are - especially in casual conversation.  Let's just take it to God and allow him to give us peace.  He's GRACED you for this season - he's not called you to be BUSY, he's called you to be IN CONTROL and at PEACE.

If you're feeling overwhelmed + busy, there's a great Biblical solution. Pray. You'll realize how busy you aren't.

K.

Just Bounce.

Proverbs 20:19 "A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don't hang around with chatters."

We need to bounce our gossip like we need to bounce our eyes.

I was taught by some great preachers to "bounce" my eyes when confronted with an opportunity to lust.  For example, when a good looking woman walks by, every moral man has a choice - look... OR "bounce" our eyes the other way.  Sometimes us men will use mental excuses to look in the inappropriate direction; something like, "I think I know her!" - The reality is, you DON'T know her but your sub-conscious is trying to make a legitimate excuse for your lustful look.

And you thought women were complicated...

Here's the point - I think GOSSIP works in a similar way.  We're having a conversation and then, all of a sudden, we're confronted with the opportunity to gossip.  Sometimes we reason in our minds, "This isn't gossip, we're just having a discussion" or "I'd say this to her face".  But at the end of the day, let's call a horse a horse.  It's gossip.

And I am not innocent of this...

What if Christians worked on a new spiritual discipline.  When somebody starts gossiping - just bounce.

Gossip is going down... you just check out, leave the room, stop them. Just BOUNCE.

You're going to bring honor to God, save your reputation and probably keep someone from putting their foot in their mouth.

K.

The Purpose of Your Purity

1 Corinthians 6:18 "Run from sexual sin."

Sometimes after reading this scripture, I focus on the SIN I'm running from.  AHH, SEXUAL SIN, RUN!

The unfortuante result is I'm so focused on what's behind me that I forget where I'm going. It's like all of a sudden, I transform my life with Jesus into a list of DON'TS.

Don't lust
Don't lie
Don't cheat
Don't watch Jersey Shore (lol)

And if I DON'T DO all these things, then I'm called a Christian.  In other words, I'm defined by who I'm not...

This is certainly NOT what God intends.

Purity isn't about WHAT you're running FROM - It's about WHO you're running TO

Listen - It's less about running FROM sin, and more about running TO Jesus.  That's literally what "Repentance" is, turning to Jesus.

The incredible truth is, it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow Jesus and sin at the same time.  As I run into the presence of God, I simultaneously reject the sin that tries to hold me back. When I run TO Jesus, I finally discover my life's greater purpose.

Instead of being defined by what I'm NOT, I'm defined by who I am - A child of the Most High God.  A carrier of the current of the power of Christ.  A world changer because of who Jesus is in me.

And thus - the purpose of Purity.  To guard your identity. To protect your purpose. To give you intimacy with the only being in this universe who can truly define you.

Jesus.

K.

Sex in September Part 1 (re-cap + freebies)

Hey everyone,

I wanted to RE-CAP the message from this week at Wildfire + give some freebies for those who missed out.  If you don't know, we're preaching a series called SEX in SEPTEMBER - it's all about what the Bible has to say about sex, relationships and why we are the way we are:

*For all the haters* - I'm a firm believer that the Church needs to be the PRIMARY source for Sex Education - partnered, of course, with a healthy family.  If we're not teaching young people what the Bible says about sex, you better believe that MTV is. And that is NOT cool with me.


Your calling is BETTER than your Booty Call

1. If you know what Sex is you'll know what to do with it

You're going to think God is awesome after reading this next statement:

God created Sex.  Boom.

Guess what - everything God creates is good and everything He creates has a purpose - and God created Sex.  Hallelujah, Glory to God, Amen!

So what is the purpose of Sex?  The Bible is actually CRYSTAL CLEAR about this topic - God created Sex to develop INTIMACY between a man and a woman in Marriage.  Many scriptures support that fact but the clearest is in the second chapter of the Bible.  God creates Eve so her and Adam can have a flourishing marriage relationship. After God gives His daughter Eve into marriage with Adam, the Bible says:

Genesis 2:24-25 "This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the TWO are united into ONE.  Now the man and his wife were both NAKED and knew NO SHAME.

God's purpose for sex is:"To unite a married man and woman into ONE".  And listen up: When we use sex in this context, it is beautiful, powerful and spiritual - no shame is involved.  Can I get an AMEN?

And don't get me wrong - in it's intended context - it's for so much more than just pro-creation! It's fun, it's intamate, it's BEAUTIFUL and it's AWESOME. (see Song of Solomon. Glory.)

So why is sex such a controversial topic in our society?  Why has it caused so much pain?

Sin.

Since the devil hates us, he PERVERTS what God intends for good.

Most of us don't understand sin - we simply think sin means "bad".  That might be true, but it's not a helpful explanation.

Sin literally means "Missing the Mark"

When we sin - we miss the mark of God's intended purpose, and God's purpose is always the BEST for us and for others.

God hates sin because sin hurts us.

So sexual sin is sex used outside of the context of it's purpose. God hates sexual sin because he knows it hurts us and MISSES His intended purpose for sex .

The Bible speaks clearly about sexual sin.  Here are a few of the many scriptures to help clarify:

Proverbs 5:17-23 | Matthew 5:27-30 | Romans 1:26-27 | 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

The Bible also gives us incredible advice on what to do when face to face with sexual sin:

1 Corinthians 6:18 "Run form sexual Sin!"

Are you dealing with sexual sin?  God gives us great advice. RUN!  When it raises it's ugly head in your life GET OUT, GET AWAY! RUN!

Don't think, "how far is too far?"  Instead think, "how pure is too pure?" or "How close to Jesus is too close?"

Sex can so quickly become an Idol in our life - something that we get our value, purpose + significance from - and God wants us to get our value, purpose and significance from Him.  Listen - God can satisfy you more than sex can.  Times infinity.

If you're confused.  If you're hurt.  If you have feelings you don't understand - here's my personal advice for you.  Take this season of your life to seek God instead of seeking boys and/or girls.  Go to the creator of the universe - he loves you, cares for you and created you. Find your purpose in Him.

2. Your calling is BETTER than your booty call

If you know who you are, you'll know what to do

You are a Child of God.  You were created by God on purpose for a purpose.

I believe Matthew 22 gives us one of the clearest glimpses into OUR eternal purpose:

Matthew 22:36-40 (read it): I'll paraphrase it: "Love God with all your heart, and love people.  These two commands sum up the whole Bible"

Did you catch that?  Our purpose is to Love God, and allow that love to overflow into the people in our life.

Love can transform your family
Love can transform your school
Love is why you were created.

Love is your calling. And your calling is BETTER than your booty call.

God created us to LOVE people, not USE people.

When we live in sexual sin - we USE people as objects instead of LOVING them with the love of Jesus.

Only in the life-long commitment of marriage can sex be used to LOVE the way God intends.  Even when our society says different, the creator of the universe understands us better than we understand ourselves.

Let's let our lives glorify God, let's obey and trust Him.  He want's good for us and not evil.

If you have dealt with sexual sin, if you've been abused, hurt or confused - know that Jesus loves you, he loves you like CRAZY. He died so you could be pure and have a relationship with a holy God.  I want to encourage you to seek God instead of relationships that won't satisfy you.  He's got the perfect mate for you anyways. He has grace, forgiveness and love for you in Jesus. Trust Him, love Him and he will guide you.

Hope this helps some people.  Love y'all.

K.