Reflections at the CrossRoads

Pictures from Wild Wacky Wet Wednesday

2008-07-17T08:40:00.000-05:00

Here are pictures from 718 last night. We took a break from our usual activities to play some water games. Our teenagers get together every Wednesday at 7:18 pm. All 6th-12th graders are invited!

Enjoy:

Youth Wacky Wild Wet Night

Rain!

2008-07-09T07:43:00.001-05:00

Did you get rain last night? Yesterday afternoon we saw the dark clouds roll in. We heard thunder, and I said a little prayer: "Please, Father, give us a little rain." The amazing thing about rain is that we can spend hours and gallons of water watering our lawns and not come close to what the heavens can do for us in fifteen or twenty minutes. It's nice in a world that fights against us all the time to get a few minutes of refreshment as the rain comes down.

That's the way God is. We can give 110% our whole lives and not accomplish what a few minutes of God's work can do in our lives. What's worse is that without God telling us, we don't even know what his blessing looks like. I love what the psalmist writes:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1 NIV

Are you thirsty for God? Do you know what thirsty feels like? What if you think that feeling is loneliness or stress or a midlife crisis, when you are actually feeling a deep, deep thirst for God? When I was a teenager, Jesus told me something that changed my life. Through the Apostle Matthew, he said:

But seek first [your Heavenly Father's] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 NIV

Jesus says it's that simple. We seek God. He meets our needs. He sends the rain. So, how do I seek God's kingdom? In John 3 Jesus tells us that there is one way into God's Kingdom:

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again... For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:3, 16 NIV

Belief in Jesus. In Jesus we have God's water--his refreshing spring--within us. He meets our physical, emotional, spiritual and relational needs.

I'm excited that I don't have to water my lawn today because God provided a better solution. If only the heavens' rain was as abundant as the water Jesus provides...

but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 4:14 NIV

In the rain... without a cell phone!!!

2008-06-28T22:58:00.002-05:00

Tonight I did something I haven't done in a long while. I needed some supplies for church, so I got in my car and headed to Office Depot. It was pouring down rain. I thought I'd give my wife a call to see if the house was still above water. Only, as I reached for my mobile phone, I found out it wasn't there. Then, the strangest thing happened. I felt free. My first thought wasn't, "What if my wife needs to get in touch," or, "What if I get a flat tire?" My first thought was, "Wow. For the next forty minutes no one can get in touch with me. For the next forty minutes I'm in my own world."

I love people. I love being connected. Maybe I need to turn of my phone from time to time.

In Psalm 46:10 the psalmist speaks for God telling the nations:
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.

In the past when I have heard this verse, I thought it meant that believers should take time out from their busy lives to be still. Instead, God is not talking to believers. He's talking to his enemies. The psalmist has written that God makes wars cease. In verse 46 God calls out to his enemies to stop making war against him and trust in him.

I wonder how many of us use our phones, PDAs, computers, iPods and game systems to war against God--to keep ourselves from really thinking about the depth of what he has done for us--to keep ourselves from relying completely on him--to give ourselves a sense of power in the midst of life's chaos--to engage in humanity's quest to prove that we are something apart from our savior.

The Good Shepherd

2008-06-27T10:09:00.002-05:00

My wife and two friends celebrated birthdays this week. This morning as I have thought about that, I have thought about my own 33 years. Hopefully, I am just a little over a third of the way through my life--maybe closer to half. Like most of us Homo sapiens I spent the first twenty or so years trying desperately to figure out who I am. Not long after my 22nd birthday I got married. Then, I began trying to figure out who my wife is. (That's still a work in progress.) In the midst of these efforts, like all of us, I had to try and figure out all the other details.

I graduated from college in 1997. Like all college graduates, I had all the answers. Then, a couple years later (on my birthday) my boss took me out to lunch to inform me that I didn't have the foggiest idea what I was doing in my career. He was pretty much right. Now, eleven years later, I'm 33, and about every six months I have to ask myself if I really know what I'm doing--not just in my career but in just about every area of my life.

Here's the beautiful reality: Even if I wake up tomorrow and realize that I don't have the foggiest idea what I'm doing, God does.

You'll never hear me claim to be the greatest pastor around. You'll never hear me claim we have the best church. What we do have is a bunch of deeply-flawed people who know that God loves us so much he sent his only Son to die, so our sins can be completely forgiven. We also know that if he loved us that much 2000 years ago, our completely sovereign God loves us enough to hold on to us and lovingly shepherd us throughout our lives. Jesus expressed this beautifully in John 10:

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand.
John 10:27-29 NET

So, I thank God for his shepherding. I thank him that I will never be taken from his continual presence and eternal plan--even when I don't get it right--not because of what I have done but because my Shepherd died to pay the price for my sins and by his grace lovingly brought me into his flock. He really is good. Just as Jesus is the one who has made the purchase of my salvation, he will also be the one to sustain it. My confidence is not in me. My confidence is in him to sustain my faith until the end.

Do you believe in a God like this? If you want to know more, send me a note: info@crossroadsfortworth.org. We'll talk about this God. We'll talk about his faithfulness. We'll talk about Christ's sacrifice that sealed the deal. We'll talk about his continual presence. We'll talk about the home he is preparing.

I am saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and I will live for God's glory alone.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

2008-06-18T11:37:00.001-05:00

During the month of July we will be teaching a series called What's on Your Mind? This series will be focused on answering YOUR questions about God, faith, morality or anything else you can think of. Questions are listed on a poll on both of our blog pages. Please take a minute to let us know which question is most interesting to you. You are also welcome to submit a new question by clicking on the link below.

Click here to add a question to be considered for our July teaching series.

Thankful...

2008-05-24T21:24:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday we took a few minutes during our Sunday morning Worship Gatherings to write down what we are thankful for. Here's what our church family said in no particular order:

Music, food, friends, family
My loving family
The Lord Jesus, good health, a place to serve, my church, my family
My CrossRoads Church family
Friends who help us with no expectations
God sending hi son on our behalf, so we cann be free from death and have life everafter with him
This church and all its support and prayers
Friendships
My incredible family
My race car and the ability to work on and race it.
Family and friends who are giving and sacrificing for others
My wonderful marriage. It's been 2 years today!
Our own facility to have youth
My family
Redemption and inner peace and friends who tell you that it's okay to forgive yourself because God already has
My hubby, my sister & best friend and my kids--they are so much fun and full of joy
My wife and best friend
My family and church family
God's revelation i my life, my family, my home, CrossRoads, my car, God's provision, green lights, good music, genuine people
My life, salvation, my family, this church, food, sweets, God, Jesus, heaven, the clothes on my back, music, school, youth camp
God's love and mercy
A Savior who loved me so much that he died for my sins so that I could have eternal life and my church family
The gifts God gives me that allow me to provide for my family
Daughters who love Christ. Support of my church family through many trials in my life.
A family that loves me, God and all his love for me, forgiveness for my mistakes
Being here at curch worshiping the Lord. I'm thankful for my family for doing things for me, my friends for always being there for me and also being my friends
My family and friends
Being here in this church. It changed my life forever and being here with my girlfriend, too.
My friends and family
The relationship I have with my family
Every day I have
God providing a home for my family
Freedom as revealed by God who opens my eyes to his world
Jesus Christ and many other things
Finding this church, my loved ones (friends and family), grace
Freedom from the curse of sin and death, all is forgiven
That there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation. I only have to have faith.
My family and friends
My mom and dad and brother, school, doggy
My wonderful mother, my loving husband, my beautiful baby boy and this amazing church
A God who allows me to cry out to him in good times and hard times
My family, my husband, God's love
My fantastic kids! My salvation
This wonderful church

What are you thankful for?

The Americanization of Coffee... and God?

2008-04-23T07:46:00.003-05:00

Where do you drink coffee? As long as it's good, I drink coffee anywhere I can get it. For some of us coffee is something we drink because we enjoy it, but let's be honest. Tom Hanks spoke for most of us in You've Got Mail when he called it "legal addictive stimulants."

One of my favorite places to get coffee is this little shop in Grapevine some friends turned us on to called Buon Giorno. It's a little shop where they roast the beans themselves. They have free wi-fi and shelves full of books and board games, but don't go there if you're in a hurry. It literally takes them about five minutes to pour a cup of coffee. Why? Because at Buon Giorno coffee is about the Cheers experience--having a place to hang out where everyone knows your name.

Which brings us to Starbucks. I like Buon Giorno, but I like Starbucks, too. Starbucks has gotten some bad press lately because people are saying they are becoming like McDonald's. Actually, I think what is happening is that McDonald's is offering what people were looking for at Starbucks--only cheaper. For the past ten years Starbucks has developed this process of making coffee that is efficient. You walk in, order your grande, extra-hot, non-fat, triple, no-whip, extra-foam mocha, and by the time you get to the register, they hand it to you, zip your debit card, and you're on your way. The problem? As efficient as Starbucks has become, McDonald's is still quicker and cheaper. So, now Starbucks is trying to change their image and their menu. (By the way, their new Pike Place roast is great. Big, bold taste with almost no aftertaste. It does, however, taste like coffee. If you're a coffee drinker who doesn't really like coffee, stick to your caramel macchiato.)

I think the problem Starbucks is going to run into is that we, Americans, don't usually want to sit and hang out while somebody makes our coffee. We want our stimulant quickly because we are on our way to work. Don't get me wrong, occasionally we like to enjoy coffee with friends or while we're reading a good book, but most of the time we think of coffee as a performance-enhancing drug not a way of life.

My concern is that this is also the way we think about God and his family (church) most of the time. We occasionally reminisce about a meaningful experience we once had, but we really go to church to get our dose of God for the week as we scurry about the rest of our lives. This Sunday I encourage you to go to church and savor the words you hear. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 10 that the words of the gospel literally save our lives. They sometimes sting, but after the shock of hearing that I don't contribute anything to my salvation, the truth that Jesus has done it all for me gives me peace and hope. Then, there's God's family. You can find hope in a few songs and an effective description of the Message of Jesus, but church can be so much more... You can find people who will love you and care for you when life is hard. You can find a place where people encourage you and remind you that God loves you--even when you blow it.

This Sunday come see us at the place God's family hangs out. If you don't already have someplace to go, come see us at CrossRoads. When you get to church, get some refreshments and find a comfortable place to sit. Then, say a little prayer. Tell your Heavenly Father thanks for sending his Son to show his love by dying for us. Ask him to introduce you to someone this morning who will be there for you when life gets hard to encourage you and remind you what Jesus' has done for us. Then, when someone comes to say "Hi", expect God to answer that prayer.

If you're looking for God, he has a place for you. Respond to him by going to find that place.

I'd love to see you Sunday!

I like to cook...

2008-04-17T10:38:00.005-05:00

I'm one of those guys who enjoys cooking. Of course, I only cook manly food. My favorite food to cook is stir fry. A couple Christmases ago my parents got a wok for me. Three or four times a month I pour some peanut oil in that wok and fry up some chicken and veggies. I guess stir fry is manly food.

One thing I can't do without when cooking is a timer. I don't usually set my timer, though. When I start my food coking, I usually start my timer at zero and let it count up rather than backward. This gives me a better perspective on how long something has been cooking. I guess that probably makes me weird. The important thing is that regardless of which way my timer counts, the food still gets done.

This Sunday I'm going to elaborate on an idea we scraped the surface of last Sunday. I threw out the idea that the time our faith in Jesus becomes most significant is at a funeral--especially our own! In our world where we can fix just about everything with medicine or surgery, I think it's hard for us to remember that one day we're going to be done--regardless of which way we have our timer running.

We all need hope for our own funerals. The Good News is that we really do have hope when we're done. Come hear about it this Sunday!

The fragrance of life...

2008-04-03T08:18:00.003-05:00

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

One of the hardest senses for me to understand is my sense of smell. My wife and I have recently been house hunting. Every house had a different smell. Some smelled clean--they had a hint of lemon and bleach. Some houses smelled like animals. Don't get me wrong. I love animals, but the smell of animals inside a house doesn't give me some internal drive to purchase it. Probably the most interesting smell I noticed while house hunting was the smell of my grandparents' house. I can't place what the smell is, but there were a couple houses we entered that drew up deep emotions and memories. For some reason God has created us in such a way that our mind attaches certain aromas to emotions that are very central to who we are.

I guess that connection between our sense of smell and the core of who we are is what makes these verses from Paul's letter so powerful. Can you imagine the emotions of the Father when his Son was executed on our behalf? Can you imagine how deeply he must have felt grief that his only Son was dying a painful death, crushed under the punishment for every sin of every person who would ever believe in him? Can you imagine how great the joy as he knew that Jesus' death would usher every believer into the intimacy of his own family? It's with these deep emotions that we see Paul describe how we smell to God. He describes us as the aroma of Christ to our Heavenly Father. Paul goes on to tell us that our odor is not only powerful to God but to the people around us. As we love the people around us and share the words that describe Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, we are the fragrance of life to those who are saved by God's grace. God's message through our words is the aroma that transforms the very heart of the people around us, by the power of God's Spirit, to give them new life through faith in Christ.

Who is going to be smelling you today? How are you going to show them God's love? How are you going to put words to God's love by telling them about God's gift to them in Jesus' sacrifice?

Thank you, Father, that through faith in your Son we are the aroma of Christ to you. Make us faithful to spread the fragrance of knowledge of Christ to others today.

Lost and found...

2008-03-21T15:19:00.003-05:00

I lost something important to me this week. One of my most useful possessions is my iPod. It's nothing fancy--doesn't even have a color screen. It was given to me when one of our members got a new one. One of the coolest hand-me-downs I've ever received. We preachers get a lot of stuff handed down to us. Yesterday I misplaced it. I don't know about you, but I get pretty obsessive when I lose something I know I can't replace. This time was pretty bad. I was almost to the point of grieving when there it was--right where I left it...

Jesus tells us the story of a woman who lost a coin. You can read it for yourself in Luke 15. When she finds it she throws a party. As I studying this week, I was thinking about the cross. Jesus came to earth to die for humanity on a cross--probably one of the most gruesome, dishonorable ways to die. The book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus died joyfully. Why? Because he knew that his death would give back the most important thing to him--his creation. He knew that when his life expired, the struggle with sin would be finished, and the punishment of everyone who believed in him would stay nailed to his cross.

What makes today, Friday, March 21st, good? I once was lost but now am found even though it cost Jesus his life.

I'll see you on Resurrection Day!

Everything CrossRoads

2008-03-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a good way to keep up with everything going on at CrossRoads, below you will find a link to a web feed that will keep you up to date with our Upcoming Events, Pastor's Blog and Picasa picture page.

What is a web feed? Here's a site that gives you a pretty good idea of what a web feed is and what it is good for: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feed

Here's the link for the feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/crossroadsfortworth

Don't forget that Easter is this Sunday. Come worship with us and bring your kids for Easter Egg Hunts after each service!

Click here for help setting up our web feed.

www.crossroadsfortoworth.org

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Why We Hunger...

2008-03-14T07:41:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday we talked about fasting. That's something we don't generally make a big deal about at CrossRoads, but I thought in light of the Easter season, it was worth spending some time talking about. During the 40 days leading up to Easter, the church celebrates Lent. Lent is a time of prayer, fasting and self-denial that leads up to our remembrance of Jesus' death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday.

So really, what's the deal with fasting? One of the best resources I've found on the spiritual side of fasting is a book by John Piper: A Hunger for God. Piper explains that fasting is not about trying to earn God's favor. (We can never earn God's favor. Instead, we receive God's favor as a gift through faith in Jesus.) He also points out that fasting is not about trying to manipulate God to get him to do what we want. Fasting is about increasing our hunger for God. Piper points out that in a world full of good things--many of which are God's gifts--it's easy to become satisfied with God's gifts and lose our hunger to know him. We have all been guilty of neglecting to pray or read our Bibles regularly when things are good, haven't we?

My prayer for you this week is that you would be reminded of your hunger for God. I would encourage you to take some time this week to refuse to be satisfied with the stuff around you--maybe even food for a day--to really focus on your hunger for God.

Psalm 63:1 NIV
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T09:06:00.002-06:00

What do you have planned for your Valentine today? Maybe you've got roses on the way to her and have a big night of dinner and a movie planned. Maybe your like me and are looking forward to a quiet night at home with the spouse you love more than anyone else--home cooked meal, movie in the DVD player. That can be a great night if your life is as crazy as ours is. Isn't it great to be in love?

I saw a movie yesterday that reminded me what love was about. One of our drummers and I went to see Cloverfield. It's a classic love story: Boy meets girl who becomes his best friend. Boy gets camcorder and falls in love with best-friend-girl. Boy with camcorder loses girl because he's stupid and can't make promises. Boy with camcorder runs across Manhattan to try and rescue girl from enormous monster that is eating the city alive.

Let's be honest. What is love really about? Romantic love is about promises--specifically one promise that's made between a man and a woman that they will love each other until death parts them. What a great promise! The reality of our world is that this promise is hard for us to come by. Last night at seveneighteen, our Wednesday night youth meeting, one of our teenagers asked a question about love that implied, "What happens when the promise is over?"

Where do we find life-long love? The Bible tells us about a God who expressed his life-long love by giving up his own life for us. This Sunday we'll be looking specifically at God's promise for us. His promise is not only for life, but the Apostle Paul tells us that not even death is going to part us from his promise.

Today as you think about love, spend a few minutes thinking about God's love for us. Then, let your love promises reflect God's love-promise to us.

Romans 8:38-39 NIV
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

18 and 1

2008-02-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

Well, football season is over. The New England Patriots missed the perfect season by one game. Have you thought about what that must feel like? They would have been the first NFL team ever to go 19 and 0. Now, with one loss, not only did they not have an unprecedented perfect season, but they also missed out on their 4th NFL championship in 7 years. Maybe the 90s Cowboys are still the best team ever? I don't know about you, but that kind of feels like the story of my life. I get so much right sometimes, but then, just as I'm about to win, I come up short.

This week we are beginning a series at CrossRoads called Love Wins. It's a story about the one man who did not not come up 18 and 1. Better than that, his perfect victory is also the ultimate expression of God's love for us. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the one and only Son of God (John 3:16). This means that he is the same essence or being as God the Father. Jesus became completely human. He faced all the pain, suffering and temptation we face in this life. The difference was that he did not ever fail to live by God's law.

One night during the Jewish celebration of Passover Jesus knelt in a garden to pray knowing that he faced his own Super Bowl. That night he would be dragged by armed guards an illegal trial that would lead to his execution on the cross. That was Jesus' Super Bowl after his perfect season. After passing every test and temptation, Jesus faced his biggest challenge knowing that the next day he would give up his life for humanity.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9

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Check out our pics!

2008-02-04T12:18:00.000-06:00

We just added pictures!

You can click on the link below to check out pictures of our recent events. Check back soon to see more of what's going on at CrossRoads.

http://picasaweb.google.com/crossroadsfortworth.org

If you'd like to add pictures you took at our events, send them to info@crossroadsfortworth.org.

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Thanksgiving.

2007-12-08T20:01:00.000-06:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving was the first Sunday I have been away from CrossRoads since I became Senior Pastor in 2003 except for trips out of country to do development work. It was an interesting experience for me. I attended my in-laws' church in Oklahoma after spending most of the week with family. Shelly and I walked in as the first song was getting started and slipped in next to my mother-in-law. We got to participate in worship the way everybody else does on Sunday mornings. There was a slightly nervous sixteen year old filling in for the normal music person. He did a good job, but there was n0thing spectacular about what happened that morning. As I stood singing, I was overwhelmed.

Many of you who have attended CrossRoads have occasionally noticed that I lose a few words to a song because I am a little emotional. Well, this Sunday after Thanksgiving I had to completely stop singing because I was overwhelmed with who this God is that we worship. I was intrigued by my emotional reaction to the morning because it was so immediate. Out of nowhere I was blown away as my mind was flooded by the reality of God's goodness and the price Jesus paid to set us free. It wasn't the music. It wasn't the message about the vices of drinking alcohol. It was the reality that we serve a God who sent his only Son to receive our full shame, so we can be completely righteous in God's sight.

My prayer for everyone is that we would all be blown away by who our God is and what Jesus has done for us. I hope that every time you walk in the doors of a church building to worship with God's family, you would be blown away by all these crazy people God has saved for no other reason than to show everyone else his glory.

Make sure you find yourself in church this Sunday expecting to be overwhelmed by the truth of who our God is. I know I will.

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Praying...

2007-11-19T11:15:00.000-06:00

Have you prayed with someone lately? Last night at CrossRoads we kicked off our first weekly prayer meeting. I know I'll probably come off like Obvious Man, but it was great to get together with God's people to pray. It was really a breath of fresh air. We didn't do anything fancy. We just took a few minutes to get to know one another, read a short passage from the New Testament, shared some requests and prayed.

It's funny about prayer--prayer isn't magical, it's supernatural. What's the difference? Magic is us manipulating things to make something happen that is beyond explanation. Prayer isn't magical. There is no hocus pocus involved. Prayer is coming to God by the power of Jesus and simply making our requests known to him. We have confidence that God answers our prayers because by God's favor alone, through faith in Jesus alone, we are made his children as we trust completely in Jesus' death and resurrection for our forgiveness and favored standing before God. Then, we add God's family to our relationship with God. Group prayer becomes this incredible sharing of our faith in Jesus with one another as we enter God's presence in Jesus' name. As we pray, we receive instruction and insight hearing the prayers of others. We each express our understanding of God's instruction, promises and provision as we speak to God and one another. We share this deep part of who we are as we express our faith in Jesus as the complete provision for all of life's needs.

Have you prayed with someone lately? It's really great!

Thanks everyone who came to our first weekly prayer meeting last night.

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The Secret

2007-09-24T10:17:00.000-05:00

One of my friends recently read and blogged about a book called The Secret. It's been a bestseller for quite some time. The author tells readers that there is a secret to life that we get what we think about. Focus your mind on good things, and you will get them. Think about bad things and you'll get stuck with them. OK, I know that's an oversimplification, but that's the premise of the book. This isn't a new idea. I remember when I was working in a Christian bookstore during college, it carried several books by authors claiming the Christian faith who made the same kinds of assertions.

The funny thing about faith in Jesus is that there are no more secrets. This morning, as I was reading in Romans, I ran across these verses:

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that had been kept secret for long ages, but now is disclosed, and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith – to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever! Amen.
Romans 16:25-27 NET

These are the wrap-up verses of the entire book of Romans. Romans is a letter that was written by the Apostle Paul to the believers in living in Rome during the First Century. In this letter Paul tells us THE secret. He clearly spells out for us the reality of our condition and our hope. Then, here at the end of his letter he tells us that the secret is a secret no more. The secret became the revelation when Christ became human and completely revealed God to us. Then, after clearly revealing God, he died because we needed someone to step in and take the wrath of God, so our sins can be forgiven.

What a tragedy it would be if the Good News about God would have remained a secret. If you've not spent a few minutes with God yet today, take a minute or two and pray thanking him for revealing the secret. Thank him for sending his Son not only to reveal him to us but to die, so our sins can be forgiven. Thank him for the gift of faith he gives us, so we can believe in Jesus' saving work.

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Don't tase me, Bro!

2007-09-20T08:40:00.001-05:00

You've probably seen the video from the University of Florida of the student who was tased during a John Kerry lecture. As I was reading in Romans this morning, I was reading about the Law and the freedom we have in Jesus. I am continually amazed by how we teach about our salvation. We teach people that our salvation is free. There's nothing we can do to earn it. It's not about what we do but what Jesus has done for us. Then, once they have trusted in Jesus, we do the very thing Jesus condemned the religious leaders for doing. We lay heavy burdens of laws on their shoulders. Why? Because our whole lives people have laid those burdens on us.

I think about how often I've had coffee with people who have come to our church, and their hearts have said to me, "Don't tase me, Bro." Many people who come to CrossRoads have blown it. They have made some decisions that they regret. They find themselves in a place they never thought they would be because their family, job or their whole life has fallen apart around them. Their friends and family have judged them, and what's worse is that they know it's their own fault. As I talk with hurting people, I'm always reminded of Isaiah's description of Jesus:

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out
Matthew 12:20 NIV

Because we have the Law of God written on our hearts, we know when we sin. Sometimes we do our best to ignore it, but we know. In the Law we come face to face with God's righteousness, and we are condemned. When someone comes to us broken by their own sin, what they need to hear is the Gospel. This week I talked with our teenagers about what the Gospel is. I told them that the Gospel is the reality that Jesus died to make us right with God when we had no desire to be made right with Him. This is what we need to remind each other. When we trust in Jesus, we are never again condemned by God. All of God's punishment for every believer was poured out on Jesus 2,000 years ago as he died on the cross. When the punishment had been atoned for, he cried out from the cross, "It is finished!" And it was.

So, today, be encouraged. If you have trusted in Jesus, you are forgiven. If you have never trusted in Jesus but think there might be something to this, God is waiting for you to trust in him and become part of his family--his family of freedom, forgiveness and hope for life's journey. And, when you hear someone this week saying, "Don't tase me, Bro." Tell them about God's favor and offer them the same break God has offered to all of us who believe.

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5 Days and Counting...

2007-09-18T07:33:00.001-05:00

Are you as excited as I am? We are just 5 days out from our Grand Opening in our new facility! I've got several people to invite today. Let's pray together as we reach out to people around us who are looking for the incredible grace of God. As you work to invite your friends, neighbors, coworkers and family, pray for everyone involved in our Worship Gatherings--our Welcome Team, Children's Team, Tech Team, band and me--that we would share the truth of the Gospel in an exciting way this Sunday. Thanks for your prayers and all your work getting us into our new home. Thanks for helping make sure God's house is full this Sunday!

So his master said, "Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full."
Luke 14:23 NLT

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The Blessed Life...

2007-09-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Have I ever shared one of my pet peeves with you? It makes me crazy when people tell me to "Have a blessed day." Actually, just about any use of the world "blessed" rubs me the wrong way. "Blessed" has become some kind of weird buzzword in the Christian subculture. It seems like its use is closer to the the way fraternities use a secret handshake than the biblical use of the word. When I hear somebody use it, I feel like they might as well be saying, "Don't worry. Be happy."

This makes me crazy because in the Bible the word "bless" has a very specific meaning. God's blessing is his grace. It's his undeserved favor in our lives. "Blessed" doesn't mean happy or nice or fun. "Blessed" means someone is saved by grace through faith in the work of Jesus--his life, death and resurrection.

So, I guess it's OK to say, "Have a blessed day," if by that you are encouraging someone to live in the grace of God. The problem is that the blessing of God is a heavy thing--heavy in the Back to the Future sense. Blessing is not something I can flippantly offer as someone leaves my house or my place of business. God's favor is something I desperately cry out to God the Father to dispense in someone's life as he causes his Spirit to draw them to Jesus. Look at the way Paul quotes Psalm 32 to describe God's blessing:

Romans 4:7-8 NET
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the one against whom the Lord will never count sin.

Blessing is not a state of mind we wish someone. Blessing is the new life we find in Christ.

May we be careful with words of grace that they may not be cheapened by over use but powerful words describing the favor we have found by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. May we remember our own blessing as our words and lives proclaim with the hymn writer:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

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Hypocrisy or Misunderstanding?

2007-09-05T07:53:00.000-05:00

This morning I was reading one of my favorite books of the New Testament: Romans. I probably read it a couple times a month. It's a beautiful book about God's grace. In Romans Paul reflects on the deep way sin has broken us and calls us to give up on religious rituals to trust in God's grace. Maybe one of the Bible's most refreshing statements comes in Romans 5:

Romans 5:8 NET
But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Back in the first chapter of Romans Paul describes why we have no excuse. He writes that we have all seen the glory of God in creation but have chosen to worship the creation we can see rather than the Creator we cannot see. He ends the passage with the statement:

Romans 1:29-31 NET
They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless.

Here Paul is describing what sin has done to humanity. Because we have rebelled against God, he has turned us over to our evil desires, and we have become all these things--every one of us. As a matter of fact, Paul goes on in the next chapter to write that we are without excuse when we judge people. To judge someone else is to condemn ourselves because we act the very same way everyone else does. Paul has not yet gotten to the Good News. The Good News is that even though every one of us rebels against God, all who will trust in Jesus are forgiven. Jesus came to earth, lived over 30 years without every rebelling against God and died on a cross to accept God's wrath in our place. Since God's wrath has been satisfied in Jesus, anyone who chooses to trust in Jesus as their only way to pleasing God is completely forgiven.

My heart is saddened every time I hear someone say how they have been judged by a Christian. In those times I wonder if we Christians really are hypocrites. Have we forgotten that we have not done one single thing to make ourselves worthy of God's grace? Have we lost sight of the cross by thinking that we have done something to deserve God's favor? Or are we misunderstood? Do our friends and neighbors see our attempts to help them live better by encouraging them to avoid certain sins come across like judgment?

I think it's too easy to forget the reality of the Gospel. It's too easy for us to begin believing that we are somebody--that we have gotten something right. The reality is that there is only One who got something right, and not one of us is him. May we never give our friends who do not yet believe in Jesus a reason for misunderstanding. May we admit our flaws so the grace of God may be magnified in the eyes of those around us.

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In over my head...

2007-08-31T00:57:00.000-05:00

It's late. It's been late now for several nights in a row. I probably don't have time to be blogging right now, but it's pretty therapeutic. I need a few minutes to reflect on this week. It's been one of those weeks that has been really long, but my head is spinning because it's gone by so quickly. If it wasn't for the fact that there is always one immediately urgent need after another, I don't think I'd know where to start! Brian and I have both spent a lot of time at the new facility this week waiting for contractors to show up and get a few important things done. It really feels strange to sit in a building with no table or desk and no high-speed internet connection.

It's been exciting to see things come together this week. Tuesday the carpets got cleaned. Wednesday Delta Signs installed our sign for us. It looks great! If you haven't seen it yet, come by about 8:15 some evening as dusk is settling in. Tonight we got speakers put up in our worship area. Our worship space in the new facility is very wide and shallow. I was a little concerned about how the room would sound, but it sounds great.

I just wanted to update you on how things are going. Here are a few pictures from the past couple weeks. I hope you are able to make it Sunday at 10:30 am as we meet in our new space for the first time. Please also plan on being part of our Grand Opening on Sunday, September 23rd. If you know someone who has been part of CrossRoads in the past, invite them to come check out our new place that Sunday. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait to see you there!

It's been a crazy ride these past few months. Thanks for being a part of it. Somebody asked my wife what we would be doing for Labor Day. She wisely told them we would be sleeping.

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Construction Update

2007-08-17T12:52:00.000-05:00

Here are a few more pictures from the work that is happening at our new facility. Remember September 2nd will be our first Worship Gathering in the new facility!!!

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Content like a child...

2007-08-13T07:54:00.000-05:00

This morning as I read Psalms 120-134, the Songs of Ascents, this psalm in particular stood out to me:

Psalm 131

Could the Holy Spirit have possibly inspired David to pick a more meaningful word picture?

"I am content like the young child I carry." Psalm 131:2b NET

My sister as well as several of our close friends have recently had children. It seems like almost everywhere we go there are babies to hold. Maybe one of the most beautiful expressions of trust and love is in those moments when I have watched these young children begin to get tired or experience some other discomfort. What do they do? They instinctively reach for mom or dad. Then, everything is OK. They are content. I would imagine this usually brings mom and dad a deep contentment, too.

While our heavenly Father doesn't have arms to wrap around us, he was so determined to show us his love and make us content in his presence that while we were his enemies, he sent his only Son to die on our behalf. Now, by grace through faith in Jesus and his work, we can be contented by our Heavenly Father.

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