Who is Jesus to You?

In the sermon series we are in here at the NLC called "American Idol" I encouraged the people this past Sunday to ask the Lord to reveal Himself to them so that they could answer the question posed to the disciples, "Who do you say I am?" (Luke 9:18-21) When Peter answers, "The Christ" Jesus, in Matthew's account (Matthew 16:17), said that God revealed that to him and not man. It's the only way we can answer that question, God reveals Himself to us. I can't tell you who Jesus is to you. You must seek Him out.
So as I spent time praying asking God to reveal Himself to me I thought of the commercial for "G." If you don't know what G is it's Gatorade's new logo and ad campaign. Why would I think of that? Because they say that Gatorade is a difference maker. As I was praying I just felt like God revealed Himself to me as the "Difference Maker". In every situation I find myself in, He is my difference maker. That is who God is to me.
Gatorade has a lot of things it claims to do for you. God has proven what He can do for us if we allow Him to be our difference maker.
So what is God speaking to you? What is He showing you? Ask Him to reveal Himself to you as you pray, read scripture, and enjoy creation. Let Him speak into your spirit and then leave a comment. I would love to hear what God is showing you.

What is Going On?

I want to share an article by J. Lee Grady (click here). Some of you may have heard about this already, I have just heard about it now. It truly makes me wonder what is going on in the church of America? I respected what Bill Johnson and Rick Joyner had to say in the past but I'm completely baffled by what they are doing now. Check out the article and let me know your thoughts. More to come later.

The Sky is Falling

Can you believe it's already March and that this weekend we will be turning our clocks ahead? Spring is right around the corner. (I heard shouts of Hallelujah and Thank You Jesus!)
The NLC encountered a great problem this past Friday. You could hear Chicken Little yelling, "The sky is falling." Our ceiling above our drop ceiling decided to fall down through our drop ceiling. It is a very old ceiling made of plaster over chicken wire that stretches from one end of the sanctuary to the other. But no problem. We were able to meet in the fellowship hall and what an awesome time we had together this past Sunday. God continues to do great things in our church, even though we were packed together, only had two guitars and a piano, the presence of God was there. I believe that God is doing something in our church through this occurence. I am calling this "Temporary Convenience for Permanent Improvement." I look forward to what God is teaching us and is going to continue to teach us as we seek Him for breakthrough. I've even received a prophetic word yesterday from this whole event that went along with things that were on my heart.
God is up to something and it isn't just about fixing a ceiling. Stay tuned.

Check this Out...

Another interesting point from John Piper. Let me know what you think. It's 10 minutes long but well worth the listen.

Interesting Thought...

Last week, in getting ready to do a funeral, I came across an interesting thought from John 11:33. It says that Jesus was deeply moved after seeing the sisters of Lazarus crying and all of the friends and family crying. In a note in my study Bible, it said that the Greek word for that meant compassion but also anger. It went on to say that Jesus felt love and compassion for everyone there but also anger because of the wages of sin. (Which He later went on to do something about.) It reminded me that God did not create death and sickness. He created life. We as humans brought sin and sickness into the world by our disobedience. It was a powerful reminder as I prepared my message.
We have victory over sin and death thanks to what Jesus did on the cross. But God still has concern over what we face each day because of sin. If only we had been obedient in that garden long ago. If only we would learn to be obedient now. Where would we be?
A friend of mine who comes to our noon time prayer, shared with us the difficulties he is facing right now. He had to be in the hospital for a few days last week but then proceeded to tell us how God used him to change the atmosphere of the hospital floor he was on. He wasn't worried about what was wrong with him. He let God use him to spread peace, joy, and love to all those around him. The roomate he had even asked him what he was in for and when he told him, the roomate didn't understand why he was so happy. He then shared Jesus with the person.
We can look at things in so many ways. We can throw ourselves pitty parties or we can know that we have victory over sin and death when we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior and walk that out.
The world needs us to be filled with love and compassion just like Jesus had for those around Him. That we would get angry at what sin has done to this world, and begin to preach repentance and life in Jesus. Then that we would begin to live that out, no matter what we face (I know that can be hard). We must know that we win and satan loses. No matter what the scoreboard says. The final standings, when we know Jesus, will always be 1 victory, 0 defeats. Someone shout Hallelujah!

What I'm Listening To...

I just got this about two weeks ago and I've enjoyed every second that I've gotten to listen to it. It comes from Jesus Culture Music and features Chris Quilala and Kim Walker. The music was unique and their voices are unbelievable. You all need to check it out.

John Piper...

I saw this video on Ben Davis's blog and thought I would post it here. It is powerful and something to think about. Comment any of your thoughts as you watch.