Today is Thanksgiving (for those of you who didn’t know), which means family, turkey, football…and of course, giving thanks!
If you have a second…here is an “all-skate” question: What is your favorite Thanksgiving food?
I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgivng!
josh
We are entering an extremely busy time of year. Beginning this week we will eat more, travel more, spend more, and sleep less. We will spin more plates than we can handle and have more to get done than we actually have time do.
So, here is an “all-skate” question. How do you keep your life, relationships, finances, and career balanced during such a hectic season?
Looking forward to hearing your wisdom!
josh
Yesterday at MCC we wrapped up our “Seriously?” series by talking about gratitude. We looked at a passage from Luke 7 where Jesus says: “But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
We all need to be forgiven. We all have rebelled against God.
And God has forgiven us. I have been forgiven much. You have been forgiven much.
Gratitude comes from awareness.
Awareness of my sin, and God’s grace. Awareness that all of life…every breath…is a gift from God.
So, what do are you aware of that makes you say “thank you” to God?
josh
This morning at MCC, we are wrapping up the “Seriously?” series by talking about gratitude. Its hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this Thursday! So, while our minds are thinking thankful thoughts, we will take a look at what Jesus has to say about gratitude.
Hope to see you at 9 or 10:30 am!
josh
In his new book, The Blue Parakeet, author Scot McKnight says:
“Missing the difference between God and the Bible is a bit like the person who reads Jonah and spends hours and hours figuring out if a human can live inside a whale– and what kind of whale it was– but never encounters God. The book is about Jonah’s God, not Jonah’s whale.”
Do you ever spend too much time on the whale, the minute details, and not enough on the God who made the whale?
I know I do.
Trying to think less about whales,
josh
Yesterday, I picked up the book The Emotionally Healthy Church by Peter Scazzero. My friend Pete recommended it to me earlier this month, so when I saw it at the bookstore, I went for it.
I think Scazzero must have written this book just for me and just for our church. In January our staff at MCC will begin a journey through this book that I think will be helpful, not only for us, but for our entire church family as well.
Here is one thought that I latched on to during the first section of the book:
“As go the leaders, so goes the church.”
You could plug any leadership role in that statement and it would be just as powerful.
As go the parents, so goes the family.
As go the bosses, so goes the company.
As go the coaches, so goes the team.
Have you ever thought of your role in these terms? Have you ever imagined that you could have influence like this over other? Because we all do. We are all leading someone.
I look forward to the lessons in the remaing chapters of this book…you should definitely check it out!
For more info about this book and the author, click here.
Pursuing emotional health,
josh
My wife Carla has been sick for almost a week. Her symptoms have changed a bit, but she has felt pretty puny for the last five days. Her sickness has reminded me of something about myself. I am a fixer. When something is messed up I want to fix it. When someone I love is sick or hurt, I want to make it better. Now, before you just assume that it is a “macho-guy-thing,” take a minute and think about it. When someone you care about is going through something…maybe physically, maybe emotionally, don’t you just want to make it all better?
I think this impulse that so many of us carry, that things aren’t the way they should be, that something or someone needs to do something to fix all of this, this impulse is as old as our story. The writer of Genesis paints a picture of how everything got messed up…people chose rebellion against God over obedience to God, and everything has been busted since.
Here is how one of the Psalmists puts it:
How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire? [Psalm 9v46 TNIV]
Have you ever asked this? How long? How long will it be like this? How long until everything is made right again?
At the end of the Scriptures, the writer of Revelation gives us a glimpse of the moment when everything is made right:
“1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [Revelation 21v1-5 TNIV]
When I feel this impulse to fix everything, it reminds me that I can’t. I can’t even fix me. But God can. And God is. As a follower of God in the way of Jesus I trust that he can do what I can’t. That he will, some day, make everything new. That includes me, you, and this good world that God created. The good news is that God has the final word…and it is hope.
Are you a fixer? What have you been trying to fix, repair, change? How do the words in Revelation 21 land in your life right now?
A recovering fixer,
josh
Yesterday was a great day at MCC! We continued the “Seriously?” series by talking about Jesus’ command for us to love our enemies. I can’t speak for anyone else, but this passage [Matthew 5v43-48] really challenged me. My natural instinct is to do the opposite of love to people who have hurt me.
Jesus really lays down the gauntlet when he says:
“46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?”
Anyone can return love for love or hate for hate. Jesus is calling his followers to a higher, more difficult path.
So, here’s the question of the day: How do you respond to your enemies? What are some practical ways that we can “love” our enemies, and faithfully live the way of Jesus?
Have a great Monday!
josh
I hope to see you this morning at MCC [services are 9am and 10:30am] as we continue the “Seriously?” series by talking about our enemies…Are we seriously supposed to love them?
Hope you have a great Sunday!
josh
This week, as we continue the “Seriously?” series, we are going to hear some of Jesus’ most difficult words. Jesus calls us, even commands us, to love our enemies. Those who have hurt us, plotted against us, and gossiped about us. And if you are like me, you push back here. This is almost too much, too difficult. I think for Jesus, that is the point. Here’s how he puts it in Matthew 5v46-47 [TNIV]
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Anybody can love those who return love. But Jesus is calling his followers to be more than average, to do what is difficult. To love those we would not or could not love on our own. It takes Divine intervention in our hearts to love our enemies.
Where does this land in your life? Is this as difficult for you as it is for me?
Let’s talk about it,
josh
