Preoccupied

You seem preoccupied...what is it? Yes I am. Its the gospel of Jesus that has captured my attention, and its complete preeminence in my thinking makes so much sense now. The more focus I give to it, the more brilliant its worth is to me. I can't escape its captivating pull and compelling implications. What in this world should capture our attention more? God the Father has a legitimate and fully logical problem with sin, He focuses His wrath on it and justly deals with it. The amazing thought is how He dealt with our sin in His only Son Jesus. He fully focused His wrath on Jesus who had willing become our substitute. Therefore God demonstrates His justice (proving that sin does not go unpunished) and we are freely given our current righteous status before Him. In the gospel we see an overwhelming gracious God who took it upon himself to bridge the unforgeable gap between our condition and His perfection. Life begins truly for the believer at the Cross. We live like He lives. I'm hooked....

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Spiritual Fitness

As I meditated on the verse in II Cor.3 that states that we have been made fit as ministers of a new covenant...of the Spirit, I drew a few conclusions on what I thought it meant and its implications. When you are made fit for a task the implication is directed toward skill and endurance. No employer likes an employee who can't endure and finish the job assigned to them. The other implication is that the task of ministering this new covenant is extremely sacred and vital, and requires a skill set "fit" for the duration of the task at hand. The emphasis of this verse rests on He who made us capable, and how this new covenant task is administered...'by the Spirit'. God the Father making us competent to minister the gospel of God the Son in the power of God the Holy Spirit. The results show for themselves in the last part of verse 6....THERE IS LIFE! No life? Then no Father God making ministers fit to administer the good news of God the Son in the power of God the Holy Spirit. It is as simple and profound as that. So look for God Life and you'll be sure to find a place where the gospel is being preached and applied accurately. You can't buy this ministry like Simon did in Acts, you can't push its conterfeit...you either have it (God Life in the power of the Spirit) or you don't. Fitness in this wonderful life giving ministry comes from God alone, and oh what a path it cuts through the landscape of human history when humble men lay hold of it. Shall we raise our hand and say, "Father count me in, I want this spiritual fitness in my ministry evident by the life it brings." Its our turn don't you think?

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Love this Place

The Scripture says that God appointed the exact times and locations where we would live, and that gives me a tremendous sense of security and comfort. I feel that our lot really has fallen on pleasant places, and Los Angeles is a great place to live. There is so much to take in here, and I find myself enjoying the geography, (Mountains, Oceansides, Desert) as well as the local culture. Southern California is just really cool, and it seems like God knew my family and I would enjoy the privilege of being apart of it all. Yet with the privilege comes the pain, and by pain I mean the grieving that comes with the knowledge that so many people here are lost. I am realizing that loving a city has two sides of embracing in it. One embraces the beauty and joy of all that is great about our home. The other embraces the hard yards of working and living amongst so much wickedness and ungodliness. The daunting task of being light in a dark place can squeeze you with fear if you let it. God's constant comfort from the Holy Spirit, and the strength we have in numbers together with other believers has been for me a shelter like no other. I often ask for better eyes to see the harvest here in LA like God wants me to see, and the boldness to be a soul-winner in a sea of doubters. God gave me a picture recently of LA being laden down with sins, nearing the bursting point of unsustainable corruption and brokenness. Will God give us the compassion and skill to minister when sins corruption finally catches up? I think so, probably because He loved this generation long before the wheels came off. So through high times in this city, to the lowest troughs that would depress even the most ardent optimist, oh God would you keep training me to Love this Place we call home.