Church is ON! Be safe!

This snow today has been a beautiful bummer! Pretty to look at. Not so pretty to drive in. We found that out today after we slid off the road popping our two front tires and having our vehicle towed. Bummer. Glad there were no injuries.

Although we recognize that the roads are very bad and the plow trucks are not doing so well, we WILL BE HAVING CHURCH TOMORROW!! We have a guest speaker and at this point, he still plans to make it in the morning.

Please be safe in your decision as to whether to come. If you cannot make it in safely, stay home and worship the Lord in some creative way. But, if you can make it, there will be some of us there waiting on you and we will have a great morning together!

Stay warm and safe!

Pastor Noah

Accessible Leadership; 2 Presidents in 2 Minutes

I want to share a big blessing that I am thankful for in my life. Accessible leaders! I know plenty of Christian leaders and Pastors that do not have easy access to leaders above them. It is a big deal or a big hassle to get time with their leaders. That is not my story.

That really hit me today in a powerful moment where....

I called the President of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference (CCF's conference covering) and asked if there was any way that he had a few minutes to chat while I was here in Lancaster. He said yes! We met. He embraced me and prayed over me. Then, as I am walking out of that meeting, I am greeted and embraced by the President of Eastern Mennonite Missions (our missions sending organization). 2 Presidents in 2 minutes. I am blessed to have access to caring and gifted leaders! I see this blessing and wanted to name it. I do not take it for granted. Thank you, Lord.

(This is in addition to the meetings I am having today with other anointed leaders!)

The Widow's Offering...Jesus Seeing It Differently Again!

Recently, I have been really appreciating the story of the widow's offering. I love this story for several reasons. Check this out:

Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all." Mark 12:41-44

A few observations:

• Jesus was strategically positioned to watch the people give in the offering. He knew who was giving and the specific amounts they were giving. If Pastor's did that today, (in most traditions) they would be chalked up as money hungry, greedy and nosey.
• From a normal, natural and earthly perspective, the people giving large financial gifts were making more impact and their gifts meant more.
• From a heavenly, Kingdom of God perceptive, through the lens of Jesus (the only lens that really matters), the woman with the penny had a more meaningful gift. It was not the size of the check, but the size of the sacrifice.
• Again, Jesus sees things opposite of the normal, cultural, or practical understanding. This is one of those things that I love about Jesus!
• Finally, we need to give out of our reserve funds, not our surplus funds. This is NOT just a giving of money, but a giving of time, talent, and other gifts you have been entrusted with.

--Noah

Sex & Stuff

Okay, I am getting silly excited about a series that I'll be teaching at CCF starting February 14th. For 3 weeks, we will focus on SEX and discover in new ways what the Bible teaches and what God seems to have in mind for how we approach sex.

Should be a really hands on topic. After last Sunday, I think that I will be more equipped to preach this having discovered synonyms for the word "horny".

Here is a preview of where the Lord is leading this:

• We will attack some elephants in the room. Things that you may not have heard discussed at church before.
• We will look at sex and marriage & sex and singleness.
• I plan to spend some time discussing homosexuality.
• We will spend some time looking at the power of sexual secrets and how to get help.
• We will redefine cheating, and look at the 12 steps to having an affair in hopes that we can avoid them.
• I pray we collapse some of the lies the enemy has fed us.

Starting Valentines Day....SEX & STUFF!! See you there.

Chill Pill

Some days, I need to tell myself to chill out! Other days, I need to tell YOU to chill out. All too frequently, we think things are worse than they really are, we are more stressed than we need to be, and our perspective seems to be void of the faith we claim.

Yesterday in my message to our church, I shared about a key verse in the story of Joseph.

"Jacob exclaimed, “You are robbing me of my children! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!” -Genesis 42:36

Jacob feels the weight of the world on him and life looks grim:

• My favorite son, Joseph is dead. I even have his special coat covered in blood to prove it.
• Simeon is gone now. He leaves with you and did not come back! What's up with that?!
• And now, you are telling me that you have to take Benjamin (my youngest son) with you and he will be gone.
• Forget it all. I think I just want to die.

Jake really needed to just take a chill pill. Because in fact, here is what was really happening...contrary to what he saw:

• Joseph was living a life of blessing and favor...alive and well...and the very reason that the family had food, or life for that matter.
• Simeon was JUST FINE back with Joseph as he waited to be united with his brothers.
• And Benjamin's presence was desired so that the whole family could be together and experience redemption!

What looked and felt like the "world crashing in" on Jacob, was really the Lord at work. Some of us need to take a chill pill and ask God for a big dose of perceptive and patience. He has not left you. You say you have faith. Live like it.

What looks to you like 3 dead kids is about to become 3 blessed kids!

Peace over you today as you pop a 250,000MG Chill Pill.

"Beyond Idols" Worship Tour Coming to CCF in March!

We are super excited to announce an extremely special event coming to Capital Christian Fellowship on Sunday, March 14th! As our Annual International Sunday, the Lord has orchestrated us to host the "Beyond Idols Worship Tour" in our service that morning. American Idol type contestants from around the world (who competed in their countries) are joining together to bring the good new of Jesus Christ to those who have not heard.

This tour will be ministering at CCF on Sunday Morning, March 14th and joining us for our International Sunday Feast! Mark your calendars NOW and begin spreading the word.

Click HERE to watch a promotional video for the event!

Click HERE to visit the "Beyond Idols" website and see what they are all about. They are a ministry of Global Disciples.

We will be looking for about 8 host homes to take 2 people each. Let us know if you wanna serve in this way.

Super Excited!!

The Poor Guy That Has My Old Cell Number

I have to tell you this funny God-story! I made the mistake of giving my old cell number out to too many people. It got out of hand. So, I changed the number the week before I left on Sabbatical last summer. Now, much fewer people have that ease of access to me.

Anyway...when you change your number, they can give it out to others. I thought that there was a wait time, but it must not be too long, because they gave this guy my old number....and....

He gets calls for Pastor Noah all the time, texts about Jesus and from Blogs, etc. I continually have people tell me that they called me at my old number and the guy says that "he gets calls and texts for me several times a week". Poor guy! I felt bad for him! So I called him tonight at my old number and introduced myself and apologized that he has had to play operator for me.

Turns out, he is a Roosevelt High Grad, who has been hoping and praying that one day we could meet. We had an AMAZING conversation tonight. He wants to come to church Sunday and get together next week because he needs someone to talk to about things going on in his life. Seems like a divine connection leading to a divine appointment all because of an old cell number.

I love it!

A Text for Repairing our Reputation

It should be no secret to you that many people in our nation and around the world have some pretty significant misunderstandings and suspicions about Christianity. Which is heartbreaking because we are to be the body of Jesus himself on earth.

One of the most common negative accusations toward Christians is that they are judgmental...always pointing out everyone else's issues and ignoring their own....leading to hypocrisy. In Matthew 7: 1-5, I see a powerful prescription for healing much of the negativity that surrounds Christianity.

Here is what it says:

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." -Mt. 7: 1-5

A few quick thoughts on this:

• It is extremely clear that Jesus is saying we must not miss the oak tree in our eye! Stop right there. You have issues. Take notice of them. It is urgent that you work on getting the log out of your eye. First!
• At the same time, stop looking at others issues. They are nothing compared to yours.
• What is this doing? It is creating a huge sense of humility in us where we realize who we are and how broken we are, and then helps us love others where they are.
• This is NOT how most of us function. I am sorry to break it to you. It is WAY more natural to check out everyone else's speck and talk about it, then to look at our log. At least that has been my observation. And evidently the observation of many pollsters.

Concluding Thought:

If only a fraction of Christians lived out Matthew 7: 1-5 as it reads, Christians would be widely known as the most humble, gracious, self efacing, selfless, high impact people on the face of the globe! Instead, we are sadly know as judgmental, legalistic and hypocritical finger-pointers by far too many!

So, let's start begging God to help us see and tend to what is stuck in our eyes until such a time when our view of ourselves is so steeped in Christ's humility that it is almost impossible to see the dust particles in the eyes of others.

I recognize that this is controversial stuff. And so was almost everything that Jesus every said or taught. This is the kingdom he envisioned. Welcome to it.

Kingdom Come

Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom! That very word seems to carry with it some weird connotations and potential baggage. I know that some of you may not really understand this. I barely do either. But, here's the deal. There is no better synonym to describe what Jesus was intending to set up here among us. So, Kingdom it is.

We are confronted with two kingdoms every single minute of our lives. In every choice we make, whether we know it or not, we consider these two kingdoms.

1. The kingdom of this world.
2. The kingdom of God.

It is all over the Bible. It IS the Bible! It's all around us, but we hardly notice it. Recognizing the difference seems to be most important to God and barely important to us. Look, I don't know how to even begin to share what the Lord is showing me right now about this....but suffice it to say that something clicked for me. Kingdom thinking clicked for me in a way it never had before.

• It is everywhere! Signs of the two kingdoms are everywhere.
• Jesus wants "His Kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven." It's precisely how he taught he disciples to pray and live...in a way that accomplishes this.
• The beatitudes in Matthew 5 are whack! A new way of thinking. Jesus blesses the things that the world could care less about.
• Then, the sermon on the mount proceeds to lay out a totally opposite way of seeing everything....from money to law to anger to adultery to divorce to vows to revenge to love to......you get the point. The way we live, act and react should be totally opposite of what we see around us. Is it? The answer for me: NO!
• The kingdom of God looks like Jesus. Jesus is the living, breathing, earthly example of the kingdom of God.
• The kingdom of God is opposite most of what we see. Kingdom thinking and living is counter cultural, against the grain, radical, and revolutionary!

Let me close with this for now....

It will take me the rest of my life to try to grasp this...and I will still only get a taste.

I think that the more we understand God's desire for his Kingdom, the more it will change the way that we live. It will impact every decision we make. It will change the way we view government and the way we spend money. It often will look foolish (like Jesus did), sound crazy (like Jesus did) and be the opposite of almost everything we see (remind you of Jesus?). But, when we decide to live with the Kingdom of God as our focus, all bets are off and everything changes. Including the church. Or at least it should. And that is our problem. It isn't!

I plan to gradually reveal some of what the Lord is showing me in the days to come...

School for Leadership Training

I'm heading out of town at noon today for a 3 day conference in Harrisonburg, VA. Pastor Nelson and I will be attending the School for Leadership Training at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. I am excited to hear Greg Boyd speak.

I am looking forward to the sessions. I am anticipating the learning that the Lord has in mind for us. I am thankful for the time that Nelson and I will share. And it is always great to network, connect and reconnect with other leaders.

Plan to tweet and blog some of the best takeaways.

Hope your week starts off strong!

(CCF'rs- We will be back in time for "Halftime" on Wednesday evening. See you there!)

Does God Care?

This morning's message delivered by Pastor Nelson was stirring. He grappled with the age old question...with all the evil and pain in the world...does God really love and care about people. If he did, why does he let this junk happen?

Here are some of the answers I heard through this word today:

• YES, he cares!!
• The entire Bible is a proof text for the fact that he cares.
• He cared about Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel.
• He cared about Moses and the Israelites as he tried his darndest to redeem them and call them into the promised land (despite the fact that they made it so difficult).
• He cared through the flood in giving a fresh start to his people.
• He cared in the story of Abraham from his call to the making of a people of God.
• He cared through the Old Testament.
• He cared through the New Testament.
• The whole human story seems to be about GOD CARING and us messing things up.
• Then....then.....then.....he expressed his care the most when he came himself in the form of Jesus, entered into our broken world and fixed the problem once and for all by caring enough to nail evil to the cross with Jesus, the son of God!
• Now, evil has been conquered and overcome by love.

So, the next hurricane, earthquake, sickness of death you encounter, remember, God does care!! And he has a solution to what we see (temporarily) that will lead us out of the pain and into what we cannot see (eternity).

9-11, Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake

I hope that you are really bothered today!! You should be. My heart is really heavy for the country of Haiti today after his devastating earthquake struck. Spent some time praying for them this morning, but honestly, it left me wishing there was more I could do!

Let me offer this perspective:

2,985 people died in the 9-11 attacks.

1,836 people died in Hurricane Katrina.

Now, remember with me the utter panic and pain that these 2 tragedies brought to THIS nation.

As sad as these tragedies were (and as hurtful as they were for those impacted), they were tiny in comparison to what the people of Haiti are feeling today.

Here is my hope for believers who desire to grow in the reality of Christ and His kingdom:

• I long for us to see the lives of people in other nations as being EQUALLY as valuable as the lives of Americans.
• In turn, I long for us to be as broken for others when tragedy strikes as we would be for ourselves.
• In fact, I would take it a step further....with Christ as the selfless servant example that he is, we should be more worried about others than we are ourselves.
• We are joined together as the kingdom of God (first allegiance) and we need to beware of dividing our joys or our pains according to the kingdoms of this world!

I just want to encourage you to be bothered by what is happening in Haiti. And if you are not bothered, pray to the Lord and ask him to increase your heart of compassion for people!

Then, Pray! Give! Pray! Give! And then pray and give some more!

Click here to donate financially!

How to Donate to the Haiti Earthquake

Here is one way that you can assist with the devastating earthquake:

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is responding to the earthquake that struck Haiti January 12, the largest in more than 200 years. MCC's response will be at least $1 million U.S. and will provide immediate shelter, food and emergency supplies and trauma healing and other long-term recovery needs. You can help through prayer for the people of Haiti or by donating to MCC's Haiti Earthquake appeal. Give online at donate.mcc.org/project/haiti-earthquake, by check to the MCC office nearest you, or by phone toll free: 1-888-563-4676.

(MCC is our denominational relief organization.)

Big-deal-sins

It continues to concern me that Christians seem to drop their chins more on certain (bad) sins that they deem more egregious. There is a shock. The reason it concerns me is because I do not see that as being consistent with what I experience as the nature of God and how he sees our sin.

First let me say that I think all sin is a big deal. Sin carries big consequence and has immeasurable negative impact on lives....ultimately death! Sin separates us from God. However, brokenness is brokenness. Setting degrees of "chin-dropping" on certain sins does not seem to help people experience healing. Instead, in my experience, it seems to promote hurt. "You did what?!?!" ""She struggles with what?!?!"

Let me say it this way...there seems to be "big-deal-sins" and "no-big-deal-sins" among believers and it bothers me, because I do not think that it assists in the redemption that Christ envisions. I see it this way...

Big-deal-sins:

• Illegal behavior (especially if it leads to jail or makes the news)
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Drugs
• Homosexuality
• Fornication
• Adultery
• Divorce
• Abortion

No-big-deal-sins:

• Greed
• Materialism
• Gluttony
• Envy
• Hate
• Gossip
• Slander
• Laziness
• Poor Stewardship

Instead, I think that we ought to tackle it this way:

• ALL sin is a big deal because it messes up God's awesome intention for us!
• Overreaction to "big-deal-sins" alienates and hurts people, makes them feel unforgiveable, and runs counter to the grace of God. Stop freaking out. You are NOT helping people by dropping your chin and acting like they are the only one on earth who is gay (or you fill in the blank)!
• Some of the "no-big-deal-sins" actually lead to a dirtier heart than the "big-deal-sins."

Note: My friend who just spent 7 years in prison for a "big-deal-sin" has a purer heart than many Christians that I know who don't do the "big-deal-stuff", but whose hearts are polluted with judgement and negativity.

I know this is controversial stuff, but let's engage it. What do you think?

"Encore" Featured at "Halftime"

Really, really, really looking for to tomorrow night at CCF!

Halftime Reloaded begins!!

I will be leading a creative new forum called "Encore" where we will re-engage with last Sunday's message. Questions, answers and accountable application will be our focus.

In addition to this, we will offer...

• Nursery for the Babies
• AWANA for kids 2 years through Grade 6
• REAL Teens youth ministry for Grades 7-12
• Bible Study with Master Teacher, Pastor Nelson
• Live Worship
• More....

See you tomorrow (and every Wednesday thereafter) at 7pm for "Halftime"!! There is something for everyone!!

Floyd McClung Guest Speaking at CCF on January 31st!

We received an unexpected opportunity for a superb communicator and well known church planter and Christian leader, Floyd McClung to come and minister to us at CCF at the end of this month. He will be flying in from South Africa, doing some consulting with EMM and then joining us on Sunday, January 31st for our Worship Service!

Click here to learn more about the McClungs!

Click here to learn more about the ministry they lead!

About the McClung’s

Sally and I have been married for almost forty years and are still best friends. We love Jesus, our kids and our grandkids, non-shedding dogs and a good bowl of ice cream! I love to hunt, hike and experience anything adventurous! Sally loves a quiet day, a good book and browsing in antique stores. We got engaged on an outreach to Jamaica, while standing in a food line with three hundred other noisy students. Not very romantic, but I was in love, we were going to be separated for two months on different teams, and I didn't want to "lose" her to another guy. So I wrote Sally a note while standing there in line. It said, "I love you. Will you marry me" She fell for it! And here we are, almost forty years, two kids, two grandkids, numerous pets, and countless airline miles later, more in love than ever.

After living in Kabul, Afghanistan and Amsterdam, Holland for more than 20 years, Sally and I discovered that we are most fruitful in doing three things: making disciples, training leaders, and planting churches. We love serving God. We never cease to be amazed that God uses us. As a "mother and father" in the Lord, we feel we are entering the best years of our lives.

Our calling is to help people discover their gifts and passions and utilize them to spread the worship of Jesus where He is least known. We have gone to the hard places of the earth to tell people about Jesus, and now we are called to ask others to do the same. And when they do, we promise not to forget them when they get there!

That is why we started All Nations but that is another story!

The Supernatural Harmony of the Bible

Yesterday in my message, I took some time to point out the fascinating parallel between the first three chapters of the Bible and the last three. In Genesis, God sets things up the way he wants it, man contaminates it and curses ensue. In Revelation, God sets in place his plan to reverse the curse and prepare a place of no more pain, no more curse, no more suffering (Rev. 21:4). The tree of life in Genesis 2 and 3 connect to the tree of life in Revelation 21 and 22. So cool! The Bible rocks! It cohesion and supernatural harmony are totally fascinating and only divine. I like the way that Mark Batterson captures this in his latest book, "Primal."

The Bible was written over a span of fifteen hundred years by more than forty writers. God inspired Kings and poets and prophets and shepherds. They wrote out of very different personalities in very different circumstances. Some wrote in the plush setting of a palace, while others etched their words during an island exile. Some wrote out of the agony of personal tragedy, while others wrote in the ecstasy of epiphany. Written in three different languages on three different continents, there is no other book like the Bible. Despite the fact that it touches on thousands of complex subjects and controversial topics, it possesses a supernatural harmony from beginning to end. And it is omnirelevant to every person on the planet.

Amen!! I love the word of God because it deepens my love for the God of the word! I pray that you will make it a priority to spend the time needed to get fascinated by God in his Word!

Final Genesis Highlights

• 30:1-13- This is the first time I can remember noticing this baby making contest/competition. Pretty wild. Check it out. It also exceedingly clear that there is a super strong correlation between a woman’s child bearing and her self worth. This is a repeated theme.
• 31:44-45- Here we have another treaty and monument. We see this over and over again.
• 32:2- “This is God’s Camp!!”
• 35:3- Love this verse!! (“Built an altar to the God who answers me in distress and who is always there!”)
• 37:4- Parents: if you show partiality, you are inviting hate on that kid!
• 37:5-7 Joseph had a lot of nerve to tell his Brothers about this dream. Would you have? Why or why not?
• 37:19- “Here comes that dreamer!” I want to be accused of that!
• 40:8 and 41:16 tell us that Joseph KNEW that interpreting dreams was something that only God could do…but then he proceeded to do it. Hence, it is assumed that he was doing it under God’s anointing.
• 40:23- we all need to be careful to not forget what people did for us or take credit for things that we did not do!
• 41:14- Look clean and well dressed for people in authority. SHAVE!
• 42:36- Jacob felt that he was losing 3 sons, when he was actually losing NONE!! Isn’t this true of life? Everything can look and feel way worse than it really is.
• 43:11- Yummy! Pistachio nuts.
• 43:3- Hide those tears, Joseph.
• 44:30- Parents need to be careful to “bind their lives up in their kids lives.”
• 45:5- You know that “bad” thing that happened to me? Yeah, God did it!

So You Think You Can Laugh

God clearly called and chose Abraham for awesome purposes! But there is this aspect of his story that reveals something humorous about the nature of God. Or perhaps about the nature of man…

In Genesis 15:2, Abraham is basically telling God… “Thanks for all these blessings (that I am not really asking for)…but, how about you give me a son (that I am asking for)!”

Then, in 17:17, Abraham laughs sarcastically after God tells him that he will give him a son through his (old) wife. “Then Abraham bowed to the ground, but laughed in disbelief.” Ha, ha, God! Yeah right!

Next, in 18:11-15 there is this account of Sarah doing the same thing…laughing at the idea of having a baby. “Yeah right, I am too old.” I wonder if this was possibly even some nervous laughter?

Then in 21:6 something really neat happens. It says “Sarah declared, ‘God has given me a spirit of laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me.” After the “yeah-right-type-of-laughter”, God brings Sarah a real, God-induced spirit of laughter.

Makes me wonder…what is the significance of all this laughter? I think that it says something of God. "So, Big Abe and Sarah…you thought it was funny? Welcome your new baby to the world!" Thank God, they didn’t live in one of those 50+ age qualifying communities that we have now. They'd have been short.

My takeaway: Go ahead and laugh if you want. God will do his thing and defy the odds as he sees fit whether we laugh at his plans or not.

Last thought: Here in these passages, we see them laugh at God. I wonder how often God laughs at us?

No Viagra for Abraham

Now that I have your attention....

Yesterday, I received an email from a Partner in our church. It cracked me up! It just captures what happens when people newer in the faith begin processing and engaging scripture. This warms my heart! THIS is what it is all about, and it is a sign that we are living into our purpose of "living as disciples!"

Last night I read Genesis from 1am to about 3am. WOW WOW and WOW. Like is 700 years old like the new 30? Are you kidding me? Enoch was like the 1st rapture guy? One guy follow god on the whole planet? Even the birds & animal were bad? What did they do? Abraham got his freak on at 100+ with no Viagra? 300 guys defeated an Army??? An Army??? So that makes the movie 300 more like 3 minutes and a commercial! By the way they lost to the Turks!! Abraham got back his stuff, his women, children, dog, livestock, nephew and the gold!!! Shaft is like mini mouse compared to him!!! My GOD and father got my back...and u don't want none of him... homie!! Step aside while I step with me peeps to the field and build me an altar! I cant wait to read some more tonight!

Welcome to CCF! This is how we roll!

Andrew Taylor Memorial Service

There will be a Memorial Service for Andrew Taylor on this Sunday, January 10th at 3pm at Capital Christian Fellowship. You can click HERE for the church's website! CCF is located at 10411 Greenbelt Road in Lanham, MD. There will be a meal after the service.

Pray for the peace of God that passes all understanding to be with the Taylor's these days!

--Noah

Healing...one way or another

Last night when I got home from visiting Andrew Taylor and his family at the hospital, I climbed in bed with my son and wept as I imagined the pain that the Taylor's must have felt as they were in the final moments of telling their son goodbye. I sensed (and twittered) this:

Healing is coming one way or another.

This morning at 10:20, healing came. Eternal healing. Not the healing that the Taylor's had hoped and prayed for, but healing nonetheless. In fact, healing all the more. Instead of being made whole temporarily, Andy was made whole eternally as he went to be with Jesus.

As I continue to walk with people through deeply painful losses, that leave us all with more questions than answers, I am increasingly convinced and comforted by the Lord's healing power. Because of Jesus, when we face death, we receive healing:

• No more sorrow
• No more pain
• No more suffering
• No more sickness

Healing MAY happen here on earth. Or healing may happen in eternity. Our ways are not God's ways. So often we wish things went our way. But, we can rest assured of this...100% of the time, God's ways are better.

Leave what I know. Go where I don't know.

Here we are. 4th day of the new year. How's it going? Did you eat right today? Did you work out? Did you read your Bible? I am not sure what your New Year's resolutions are (if you even have any), but I tend to doubt that many of you selected this as one:

Leave everything I know and walk away from comfort, security and family.

...Certainly NOT a popular plan.

But, that is precisely what Abraham had to do to respond to God's call.

"The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you." Genesis 12:1

Abram is not alone. For many, the FIRST STEP in going after God's plan and desire for you is to walk away from the familiar, to leave what is comfortable, to deny self and to go GOD'S way! There are 2 powerful components here:

1. Leave what I know
2. Go where I don't know

I long to follow God with this type of faith and I long to see more of my brothers and sisters doing the same. Some of us need some change this year...it will require ears to hear God and courage to obey what you heard. And yes, it may require leaving you comfortable city and family.

--Noah

Genesis 1:26

Genesis 1:26 blew my mind and captured my heart this week. It's just one those verses where God reveals a lot of himself.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." -Gen. 1:26

These three things capture me (and are incidentally in the first 14 words of the verse):

1. Let "us"! After five days of "God creating", all of the sudden "we" create. This is the first introduction of what we will come to know as the Trinity and reveals something of the nature of God in community. Puzzling. One God. Multiple dimensions.
2. "Make man"! Two words and we get the masterful creation of the human body. There are thousands of processes happening in your body all the time, trillions of chemical reactions taking place in every cell every second, millions of electrical impulses are firing across billions of synaptic pathways and "they" just "MADE MAN"?!?!?! Are you kidding me?
3. ...in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish, birds, animals, etc. Lots of God's original intentions were revealed in the first few chapters of Genesis, and think that we need to pay attention to God's original intentions! One of them is revealed in 1:26--God intended that people rule over animals, not other people. In fact, he did not set it up for men to rule over men until after the fall...a result of sin and needed to keep order. But, it was not his original plan.

There are several others very interesting "original intentions" as I read them in Genesis 1 and 2. I will share a few more tomorrow....

Night!

A Prayer for this blog

Let me first post of 2010 on this blog be this:

God,

I pray that the words written and things posted on this blog site this year will honor you. I pray that there will be many moments when people read something and the result is them hearing from you and not me! I hope that the holy spirit changes people that visit this site through what you lead me to share. Lord, I pray that you help me keep YOU and your glory my main motivation. I don't desire to lift me up, but rather to lift you up and bring you praise! Thanks for modern technology and this extension of the ministry to which you have called me. Take it! Use it!

Amen.