Hiddur Mitzvah

My wife just called me and gave me some awesome news. She told me that a woman that is new to our church, and brand spanking new to this whole "Jesus-Loving" thing, came to our Christmas Eve worship service. If you remember that night, the weather outside was frightful - sleeting ice and snow had put many folks, brave enough to drive in it, in ditches and worse. However, we were all warm and toasty inside the Worship Center, and we worshipped our guts out to the One Who deserves it most. Afterwards, this new-Believer went out to her car, only to find another D.C. lady scraping her windshield for her. Apparently, this unknown "angel" had done this for every car in the parking lot. Again, it was FREEZING cold and absolutely miserable conditions outside!

My wife asked me if I knew who this was. I do not.

Exodus 15:2 - NLT
The LORD is my strength and my song; He has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him - my father’s God, and I will exalt Him!

From this line, rabbinic thinkers saw the words "I will exalt him", and asked the question,
"How can mere mortals hope to exalt God, the Creator of the entire universe?"

In the same way we could ask,
“How can we bring more glory to Someone as infinitely wonderful as God's own Son, Jesus?”

The rabbis had a wonderful answer. They said humans can bring more glory to God,… Who had all the glory in the heavens,… by doing His will on earth in the absolute best and most beautiful way possible. They called this "hiddur mitzvah", meaning to beautify God's commands. In the same way, we can do what Jesus commands in the absolute best way possible.

Christians may be surprised that the word mitzvah, meaning "command" or "commandment", is positive rather than negative in Jewish culture. The word is found in many verses, like the following: >"Keep my commands >(mitzvot, pl.) and follow them. I am the LORD." (Lev. 22:31) We tend to assume it refers to burdensome regulations, but the usual Jewish usage of mitzvah is that it is an opportunity to do something good that God told you to do. People say things like, "I had a chance to do a mitzvah today when the elderly woman asked for my help." The word is always used in a positive way, suggesting that doing what God has asked is a joy and a spiritual opportunity, not a burden.

The idea of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying the command) goes even beyond this - that if God tells us to do something, we shouldn't just do the minimum, but to perform it in the best way possible, sparing no expense or trouble.

Even if it's freezing outside.

We can see Jesus describing this behavior of hiddur mitzvah, going far beyond the minimum, in His story about the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan man obeyed God's command to love his neighbor by personally caring for the wounded traveler, carrying him to the inn on his own donkey, and investing a large sum of his own money to care for him. Because he was a Samaritan in Israel he even risked his own life, because as an enemy of the Jews, he could have been accused of being the attacker (Luke 10:33-35).

There are so many of Jesus’ commands that have to do with physically showing love to someone: Whether it’s giving water (Mark 9:41), giving away your clothes (Matt. 5:40), visiting the sick or imprisoned (Matt. 25:36), or just carrying their bag a bit further than they originally had asked (Matt. 5:41). May you and I be those that scrape windshields and ‘beautify the commands’ of Jesus, by going far beyond the minimum, and thus, may we bring our Lord massive amounts of glory!

And to the unknown, ice-scraping 'angel'... I want to say that you were Jesus to a brand new Believer, her two-week-old-in-Jesus husband, their small children... and their appreciative, humbled, and blown-away pastor.

A big 'thank you' to Lois Tverberg, who's book I'm reading currently. Her insight into the Hebrew Scriptures has been so exciting to me. Most of this information comes from her book, "Sitting At The Feet Of Our Rabbi Jesus".

Who's Rich?

Have you been to the mall recently? How about Wal-Mart? Or Target? Or anywhere that seems to be flooded with tired-looking people carrying bags stuffed full of presents or grumpy folks pushing squeaky shopping carts filled with Christmas crap? Have you, like me, come to the realization that once again you’ve allowed yourself to get way too caught up in the materialness of this season?

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:11-13

Right now as we are in this season of Christmas, as we are doing our pre-Christmas and soon our post-Christmas shopping, it is easy to focus on new things we wish we could have. We live in a culture where TV shows and commercials revolve around having more "stuff," where our status is based on money, and we are expected to dedicate all our time to achieving financial success. Our culture's god is Mammon (a big word that means money and stuff), and at Christmas, we are bombarded by messages to bow down to this god, when we should be worshipping the God who cared so little for money that He came to earth to lay in an animal’s feed trough.

This is probably a pretty good time to reflect on a wonderful saying of the rabbis. They asked the simple question, "Who is rich?" And, they answered it with a profound, yet simple answer: "He who is satisfied with what he has."

Certainly there are many in need, but many more of us don't see the amazing prosperity that we do have. For much of the world's people, and much of human history, people have known regular hunger, have had only one or two changes of clothes, and have worked hard to just make ends meet with little or no safety net of savings. Nowadays people have large retirement savings, buy pricey vacations and entertainment items, and grow obese eating in restaurants. What if we saw our homes as palaces that even kings and queens of former generations would feel comfortable in, do you think we'd feel satisfied with what we have then?

Sure, it’s going to be a ‘smaller’ Christmas for me and my family this year. And from what I hear, it’s going to be that way for many of my close friends as well. However, as we celebrate God's radical gift to us in Jesus, may we seek first His Kingdom, rather than worrying about the things we have or don't have. And may we learn to be content in every circumstance, knowing that God abundantly supplies all our needs. Then we will see how rich we really are.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A big 'thank you' to Lois Tverberg, who's book I'm reading currently. Her insight into the Hebrew Scriptures has been so exciting to me. Most of this information comes from her book, "Sitting At The Feet Of Our Rabbi Jesus".

When It's Not "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

I ran into someone yesterday while eating lunch at a local hamburger joint. He is a brother in the Lord who I've not seen in many months. I thought he'd fallen off the face of the planet... or simply decided to go to another church. What I found out was that he recently had gotten some bad news. Scary news. News that had sent him into a season of depression, isolation, and questioning.

The news: Cancer.

"Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain!" - Habakkuk 3:17-19 (The Message)

This guy with the funny name, Habakkuk, is saying all this on the eve of his country's destruction. In our context, he is basically saying, "Even though my country is going down the toilet, my stocks are all crashing, my bank account is empty, my house is being taken away - even though everything around me sucks... I'm singing joyful praise to God". The Hebrew word that is used here literally means "to jump up and down". Does that strike you as odd? What's up?

In the New Testament part of the Bible, a God-lover named Paul says, "In everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Notice he doesn't say, "FOR everything", he says "IN everything". You see, I can give thanks in everything because I know that God can change, fix, redeem, totally turn around the situation and can work out the problem whatever it might be if it is His will. However, I don't have to be fake. I don't have to pretend that the problem is a blessing,... or that it is not scaring the you-know-what out of me. I don't have to rejoice in the problem, but I can always rejoice in the Lord. I can always "sing joyful praise to God".

I think that God wants me to seek His face, to hear His voice, to see His vision, to hang out with Him no matter what is happening around me. No matter how bad the news might be, He wants me to rejoice in Him. Why? Because He is my strength and my joy.

Guess what I'm discovering? When I seek the Lord about a problem, by the time I'm finished talking it over with Him, as I worship Him and spend time with Him, I have usually forgotten what I came to Him for in the first place. His friendship is so awesome! His company is so sweet!

No matter what happens, He is our joy. He's the One that makes us actually feel like doing cartwheels. It is in seeking Him, that we find what we longed for all along. It is only when I'm Counting on God's Rule to prevail, that I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain. It's all about hanging with Him,... loving Him,... praising Him in the midst of ANY storm we're currently living through.

A big 'thank you' to Lois Tverberg, who's book I'm reading currently. Her insight into the Hebrew Scriptures has been so exciting to me. Most of this information comes from her book, "Sitting At The Feet Of Our Rabbi Jesus".

Christmas Trees are pagan tools of Satan?

I was recently asked what my feelings were on Christmas trees. We have several in our church's Worship Center, one in the foyer, and one in the Children's Church. I also have one in my living room at home. I said I felt like they were great. Then I was asked if I knew of the pagan history of Christmas trees. I replied that I did and then I bored my questioning friend with a brief summary of why I still think they are great. Here is what we discussed:


"You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the LORD your God hates." Deut. 16:22

At Gezer there is a group of ancient standing stones (matzebot in Hebrew) that date from 1500 BC, when the Canaanites were in the land of Israel. In theory, they shouldn't still be standing, because Israelites were given instructions to destroy all of the pagan standing stones in Israel (Deut. 12:3). But Gezer was a very strategic city and only rarely were Israelite kings in control of it (Judges 1:29, 1 Kings 9:16), so during very little of Israel's ancient history could they have knocked down the stones of Gezer.

The standing stones there were part of the ancient practice of setting up stone pillars at pagan worship sites. The practice dates from at least 5000 BC, and many sacred stone sites from 3000 BC and older can still be found in the Negev and Sinai desert, as well as around Europe and elsewhere. They often seemed to be involved in worship of heavenly bodies.

Interestingly, Jacob uses this practice when he erects a stone, anoints it, dedicates it to God and calls it Bethel, where he had the vision of the heavenly staircase. (Genesis 28:18-28). Later, when the Israelites cross the Jordan, God commands them to set up twelve stones to be a memorial to the great miracle God did there. The text says,

"When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, `What are these stones?' then you shall inform your children, saying, `Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.' "For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever." (Joshua 4:21-24)

It is ironic that God could use the same practice usually meant for idolatry to show His glory to the world, so that through the generations people would stop and remember what God did there. Otherwise, God forbade standing stones when he said, >"You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates." (Deuteronomy 16:22) The difference was the motivation - whether the stones were set up to point people toward God, or to worship idols.

A related example is the bronze serpent that God commanded to be made in the wilderness. The people who had been bitten by the snakes who looked at it in faith would live (Numbers 21:9). But later in their history, the same symbol that had helped people have faith in God had become an idol, so it had to be destroyed (2 Kings 18:4). The fact that God created it didn't sanctify it when it was being misused. Once again, the motivation of the people, not the origins, determined whether a thing was idolatrous or God-honoring.

These biblical examples can give us wisdom about the holidays of Christmas and Easter. These holidays began as Christians decided to worship the true God on days when pagan gods used to be worshipped. Some of the traditions (like the Christmas tree and the Easter egg) once had pagan meanings that are now lost as they have become Christian celebrations. So,... should we avoid these observances?

There are some people who have rejected these celebrations entirely because of their origins. But it seems that the critical thing is not what their origins are, but whether we are worshipping the one true God. To most Christians, these holidays glorify God like the standing stones by the Jordan did -- they are a continual reminder of the wonderful thing God has done by sending the promised Messiah, who saved us by suffering and dying for our sins.

My family goes out each year and we chop down a tree. We play hide-&-seek at the tree farm, we jump out and scare each other, we drink hot apple cidar. We basically have a great time. Then we go home and as we decorate the tree... we talk. We talk about how the trunk of the tree reminds us of the Cross of Jesus. We discuss how the lights remind us that Jesus is the Light of the world, and the star we place on top of the tree is like the star of Bethlehem that lit up the sky the night Jesus was born. We even place a wooden crown (it's more like a wreath) around the top of the tree, under the star, and talk about the crown of thorns that Jesus was made to wear. In other words, the tree for the Craft family is a major reminder of the Person of Jesus Christ and all He has done for us. If at one time the tree was a pagan 'thing', it has been redeemed and is now a thing that points us to the Christ of Christmas. I too, along with my family, have been redeemed and desire to be one that points others to the Christ of Christmas.

A big 'thank you' to Lois Tverberg, who's book I'm reading currently. Her insight into the Hebrew Scriptures has been so exciting to me. Most of this information comes from her book, "Sitting At The Feet Of Our Rabbi Jesus".

The Other Side

This week the Desperation Church community will be going out and delivering food to the poor and actually inviting them to come to our homes for a warm meal at Christmas time (next month on Dec. 27th). This has raised a number of eyebrows and some of the comments we've gotten have ranged from, "Man, this is awesome!"... to "What if we invite strangers in and they steal something from us?"


When Jesus arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met Him.… The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Matthew 8:28, 31-32


The Sea of Galilee was an area known in Jesus’ day as the Decapolis. Today part of Israel, this area on the east side of the Sea was, in the first century, a Roman league of ten cities (Decapolis = ‘ten cities’). Greek, and later Roman, soldiers were given property there as a reward for service.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Jesus makes several visits to what the Jews called “the other side.” On one of his visits, he encounters one (Mark & Luke) or two (Matthew) demon-possessed men. What must have been a terrifying scene for his disciples becomes almost comical in the gospels, as he commands the demons out of the man and into a herd of pigs. The pigs promptly run down an embankment (there are no steep cliffs there) and drown themselves in the Sea. The fact that this is a Gentile territory explains the presence of pigs, which you wouldn’t find in Israel. They may have even been the sacred animals of the Roman temples in this area. That the demons send the pigs into the sea is fitting, since it was considered to be the abode of Satan — they were going home!

Another event that happens in the Decapolis was the feeding of the 4000, not to be confused with the feeding of the 5000. Mark sets up a deliberate comparison between the two miracles which only makes sense if you know where they took place. When Jesus fed the 5000 (Mark 6), he was in Israel. Afterwards, the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftovers, a significant number reminding Jews of the 12 tribes of Israel, as if Jesus was saying, “I am the bread of life, sufficient for all Israel.” When he repeats the miracle for 4000 (Mark 8), He is in the Decapolis. Afterwards, the disciples pick up 7 basketfuls. When the Israelites first came into the land, they drove out 7 Gentile nations, many of them in this general area. So Jesus seems to be saying, “I am the bread of life, also sufficient for all the Gentiles.”

Paying attention to where Jesus was in His daily encounters with people gives us a better idea of the radicalness of His Message. We too, are called to go to 'the other side' and feed those who are hungry. What's the other side? It's the place where people are that aren't like you. It's the place where people are that make you feel uncomfortable. Jesus was all about ministering to His own people, as we should be. But He also was all about going to the 'other side' and bringing them the Bread of Life as well. Perhaps we too should be willing to get out of our comfort zones and out from walls of our churches and see what amazing things the Lord can do?

A big 'thank you' to Lois Tverberg, who's book I'm reading currently. Her insight into the Hebrew Scriptures has been so exciting to me. Most of this information comes from her book, "Sitting At The Feet Of Our Rabbi Jesus".

Bite That Off and Chew On It For A While!

"The only Thing worth holding onto... is holding onto me".

I just heard this line sung by Jeremy Camp in a song off his newest album.

It is rocking me.

The rest of the song is fine,... but this line... wow.

"The only Thing worth holding onto... is holding onto me".

Selah

For Posterity's Sake

Psalm 37:35-40
"I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more; I sought for him, but he could not be found.
Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.
But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him."


What is life all about? Who are we to look up to as an example? Who are to be our heroes? Our culture exalts the ones with the most wealth, the most power, the ones with the most fame... regardless of how it came to them. Yet, if we are patient and stick around long enough, it seems we become witnesses of these very ones falling from grace, being soon forgotten... and simply being 'no more'. What exactly is the legacy that they leave?


My son, Caleb, has one of those red-laser pointer thingys. He likes to hide in another room (or across the worship center!) and point that thing at my chest while I'm talking to someone. They start snickering and giggling... and pretty soon I realize that I need to introduce my son to the wonders of duct tape once again (that was a joke, please don't call DFS). He's obviously using that laser-pointer for something that it was never intended for. It is meant to be a tool used in lectures to direct an audience's attention to the speaker's main points. It was originally found only on certain types of guns and used for the purpose of targeting something. In both cases, it's purpose is to 'mark' something.


We are admonished to keep an eye on the lives of others in this passage, to literally 'mark' them. The writer speaks of how he watched a bad, violent man who was successful in life, but when he died, he was no more - simply forgotten. However, when we watch the blameless, upright and peaceful man we'll find a very different story. He'll have something called "posterity". "Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have posterity" (Psalm 37:37).

• The dictionary says that "posterity" is a noun meaning: 'Generations or time to come. The body of descendants from an ancestor.'

The idea of 'posterity' is what I'll call a 'legacy'. It is something that a person hands down to the next generation when they die. However, it is really more than that because 'posterity' speaks of more than something, it speaks of the very people themselves!

Let me re-set this: We are to 'mark' those (watch them, look up to them) that are blameless, upright, and peaceful, because THEY are the ones that, rather than just fade away, will leave a lasting legacy, which is the people that carry on their righteous way of living.

We are a culture of hero worshippers. And the heroes we choose to lift up and 'mark' are all too often undeserving. They exemplify greed, materialism, lust, and selfishness. This passage in Psalm 37 ends by stating that those we should be watching are ultimately the ones that "take refuge in God". In other words, they may not be perfect, wealthy, or even have all their 'stuff' together, yet "He is their strength in time of trouble".


Do you know someone like that? Maybe they aren't the perfect picture of 'success', as far as this world might define it. However, they live lives of total dependence upon God. They are peaceful. They are upright. They are simple, but they are blameless. If you are lucky enough to be around someone like that, then point your laser at them. Mark them. Watch them. Do it for posterity's sake. Keep your eye on them... understanding that you too are being watched.

I look down... I see a red dot... I realize that my son has marked me.

What will I pass on?

What will I leave him?

What's important today?

Those Aren't Skid Marks!

Ever had someone accuse you of leaving skid marks? Until this morning, unless you were my wife, my answer would have been "no", but I guess I can't say that anymore.

As I pulled my Harley Davidson into the church parking lot after eating an incredible burger at our local bowling alley, I realized that I had been followed. A large man, probably somewhere in his 40's or early 50's, driving an old Ford truck, came to a stop in front of me and proceeded to jump out of his vehicle and start giving me a verbal smack-down.

This lovely man pointed to some black marks in the parking space I had parked my bike in, and with a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket almost falling out, he began his loud tirade. He asked if I was the 'pastor'. He then spoke of how he often drove by our church and saw my motorcycle... and those black 'skid marks'. He described his disgust with how I could call myself a pastor and still feel as though it were okay to burn rubber (which is apparently against the laws of Missouri AND the law of God - Leviticus 14:40 perhaps?). He described how he had talked with "many other Christians" about my appalling behavior and that he was just waiting for a time when he could see me and confront me with my 'sin'. He stated that of all the people he's spoken with, none of them would ever consider attending a church where the pastor acted as hypocritical as I did.

When this gentleman finished, I asked if I could say just one thing in my defense... to which he gave a loud sigh, crossed his arms, pursed his lips and then an affirming nod. I pointed to the 'skid marks' he had been referring to and explained how they were, in fact, lines of black paint. I personally had painted those lines to cover some red paint stripes that had been left by the power company when they came and marked our parking lot to identify where the power lines were under the pavement. I described how, even if I wanted to 'burn rubber', I'm too much of a novice to even know how.

He walked over to the lines, bent down and rubbed them with his fingers... as if not believing me. He then said, "Well... I guess I can see the red lines under there after all." He then stood up, outstretched his hand and said, "Well, I'm a Christian and I attend -------- ------ Church and just felt that someone had to say something. Guess I was wrong about the skid marks. That sure is a heck of a bike you got there though!" Without any type of apology he got in his truck and drove off.

He left so quickly, he actually left a bit of a tire mark on our parking lot. Just kidding... but that would have been freakin' hillarious... and awesome!

Anyway... my daily reading today included Psalm 70, which ironically says:

"O God, hasten to deliver me; O Lord, hasten to my help! Let those be ashamed and humiliated who seek my life; Let those be turned back and dishonored who delight in my hurt. Let those be turned back because of their shame who say, 'Aha, aha!'
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, 'Let God be magnified.' But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my Deliverer; O Lord, do not delay."

My Bible calls this a 'Psalm of David' and if that's true, I was just wondering if David was ever accused of leaving 'skid marks'? I so appreciate being able to pick up my Bible and instead of finding some archaic book full of non-relevant stories that in no-way apply to where I'm living, I find something that absolutely blows my face off every time!

Like David, I am kinda feeling "afflicted and needy" today, yet if I'm seeking God I can rejoice and be glad - I can say, "Let God be magnified". You see, my life... and my happiness... are not determined by the actions of others, but by the actions of me. In the darkest of situations, when accusations are flying and we are faced with people talking behind our back in horrible ways, the ONLY thing that really matters... is Jesus.

So, let God be magnified. He's the Deliverer. He's the love of my life. And only He can take the skid marks of my life and make them inconsequential.

What Is A Healthy Church?

I'm part of a Young Emerging Leaders group that is mostly made up of pastors and youth pastors. They've asked me to be a point person and to write a blog about 'HEALTHY CHURCHES'. The following is my latest entry to that site:

Measuring a church's health is a subject that there are numerous books and blogs written about and one that every leader should be constantly concerned with. In other words, "Is our church body healthy?" should be a question that all pastoral leadership is asking on a regular basis. At our church we've done everything from handing out surveys to asking the so-called-experts to come in and give us their opinions. Each has been a way of measuring our success in fleshing out the call God has commissioned us with. However, with all the information that is available, I think it is super important to differentiate between Church Health and Church Growth. I, for one, do not believe they are the same thing.

I often wonder what Jesus would say to the modern church growth experts? He sure didn’t seem to care about thinning the crowds. Remember that time He spoke about how everyone had to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” and almost everybody bolted?

Sometimes the crowd thins and people you thought were with you... and in it forever,... leave. And sometimes when they do… they will call you painful names.

Those of us that know, love, and have studied Jesus see that most of what He did was not only radical, but controversial. Yet, was the church He was building – you know, the one that the gates of Hell wouldn’t be able to take down – healthy? Of course it was. So then, what exactly does a ‘healthy church’ look like?

We must always remember that God’s Kingdom is completely, even ridiculously, upside down! Jesus’ philosophy so many times seemed to be the “less is more” strategy. Remember in Luke 21 when the little, old lady put two cents into the offering bucket? Compared to the massive amounts being put in by the rich, hers seemed like nothing. Yet, Jesus says that she “put in more than all of them”. What?!? That makes NO sense! I’m not too old to remember learning in one of my math classes that two cents is less than thousands of dollars. Remember those ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ signs. Well, in every economy in the world two cents is ‘less than’ the thousands of dollars being placed in by the rich folks… except, of course, in Jesus’ economy. In Jesus’ upside down way of thinking, ‘less is more’. Wow.

Can you believe how easy it is to find a list of churches on the internet that are ranked? If you don’t believe me, just Google it yourself. There are people that want to rank churches according to size, and popular opinion. Crazy. Aren’t these the same churches that worship that Guy who said that the “first will be last”?

So again, what exactly determines church health?

I believe when a church is being sensitive to God’s voice and radically obeying it, no matter what He’s saying, then they will be healthy. Unfortunately, we would rather be given a formula – a process – a new program. The problem with that is that what God is doing here in Liberty, Missouri may be drastically different than what He’s up to in your neck of the woods. Don’t get me wrong, obviously the Message stays the same, but the methods must change. Those ‘methods’ are what I’m talking about.

Oftentimes, how you say something means more than what you say.

How is God wanting you to say what He’s asked you to say? Are you still trying to speak in yesterday’s lingo? Are you making the Message of the ages… boring? Are you coasting by with sermons that worked ten years ago, but aren’t at all fresh for the generation of people who are ravenously hungry for the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Do you relate perfectly with the faithful who consistently pay their tithes and show up on the weekends, but totally lost touch with anyone outside of the ‘already Christian’?

What was Jesus doing? What types of people was He relating to? What would He be doing if He were accepting your pay check and doing your job? The answers to those questions are what is going to make your church, and my church, healthy.

Listen, I'm all about sharing new ideas with one another. However, as we are sharing ideas, may we never forget that we MUST be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is leading US to do in OUR LOCAL CHURCHES. May we never feel lame because someone else's church is larger or cooler than ours. May we never think that because we plug in some program that we're all of a sudden going to be healthy. And may we never forget that awesome conversation that Peter and Jesus had right after all the crowds thinned - "You do not want to go away also, do you?" asked Jesus. "Lord, where else are we supposed to go. You have the words of eternal life. We believe that You are the Holy One of God."

In the midst of lots and lots of words, may we never stop being sensitive to the One who has the words of eternal life. God bless.

Early Morning Revelation

I couldn't sleep last night. At least, not as much as I wanted to. Thoughts of our Saturday night service at Desperation Church last night, and the two services that we'll have today kept zipping through my noggin. I finally just got up, showered, shaved, and went out riding (my motorcycle). It was about 5am and around 40 degrees out. Yikes, was it cold! I'm dreading the day, which is coming way too soon, when I'll have to pack it away for the winter.

I ended up at Starbucks. One vinti carmel latte-breve' with an extra shot, and five chapters read in Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" later... and I was ready to head to the church.

I realize that I sorta like getting up early.

I like watching the sun rise,

while sipping coffee

and feeding my spirit good stuff.

I'm liking this Francis Chan guy. I agree with so much of what he's writing.
Perhaps the following stuck out to me the most today as I read:

• "I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally and seriously is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life that we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering."

Wow... there's some light reading for ya. Nice way to start the day, especially when I will be preaching twice today to this "American Church" of which he's speaking, and of which I am a part.

I want to be a man... a pastor of an 'American Church'... that takes the words of Christ seriously. I live in fear that I won't. I live in fear that I'll cave to what 'men' think, rather than live in such a way that all that truly matters is what God thinks... and desires of me.

It can be hard when so many are willing and able to voice their opinions... whether they be approvals or disapprovals.

So,... I just walked into my office... opened up my Bible... and read this:
"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets" (Luke 6:26).

Now, with warm tears streaming down my still-frozen cheeks, all I can say is:

"Jesus,... thanks for saying that".

Culturally RELEVANT

Philippians 3:12 - "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own."

I love that Paul, this 'hero' of most of us that are followers of the 'Way', stresses that he is not 'already perfect' - he is still involved in the struggles of life in a fallen world and hence he still sins. Obviously he hasn't realized the full embodiment of his future hope, yet he proudly and boldly states, "I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own". There is a balance of faith and works, of God's call and the believer's response, here that is really cool.

Today so much is made of being 'culturally relevant'. I'm a huge proponent of this - if we are so far behind what is happening in culture, then we risk losing the ability to speak Truth into any one's life. For example: To me, using a King James Version of the Bible when sharing the Good News of Jesus with someone is the equivalent of visiting Mexico and speaking in Russian! Our culture no longer uses that language, so to make the Gospel Message 'relevant', we've updated the language so that 'Truth' is understood. Another example might be the use of Godly lyrics in updated music styles. I believe that using a culturally relevant style of music to relay the same powerful 'Godly' Message will open up doors to a whole new generation hearing and coming to 'faith' in Christ (remember Romans 10:17?). A final example (and I have many more) would be the way a Christian dresses, or even their hair styles. If all the men have newscaster haircuts, wear ties, and clone themselves in the image of Billy Graham (...or any of the business men you see on Wall street who live for the almighty dollar and constantly cheat on their wives), and if all the women wear long dresses to the ground, skip the make-up, and competitively see how high they can stack their hair - is THAT what God desires? If a Christian man wears jeans and has a 'rock-star' hair-cut, or a Jesus-loving woman wears the latest brand of make-up... are they now in direct disobedience to God's Word, or are they now positioned "in the world" perfectly in order to share a Message that is definitely not "of the world"? I would say the latter.

Yet, there is an inherent danger to this line of thinking. Many Christians will say, "Michael, if you become so much like the world then you will become the opposite of what God has called you to be, namely a 'foreigner', 'pilgrim', 'alien'." This, in fact, is very true. However, we must always remember that the Christian, like Jesus, is both a friend and an enemy of the world. "Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God's enemy" (James 4:4). The world returns the favor by hating those who follow in the way of Jesus. Paul (in Ephesians 2:1-3) challenges us not only to turn away from our own sins, but also from following the "course of this world".

But what exactly is the "course of this world"? Isn't that really where the confusion lies?

David F. Wells, in his book Above All Pow'rs (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005 - page 23) would define it as "our embeddedness in culture at the point of its fallen horizons, false belief structures, and misdirected devotions - all of which are kept in place by the powers of darkness." Think about that statement, because it's pretty powerful.

God is not concerned with the way we look, that has always been man's concern. Even in the passages of the Bible where "dress" and "appearance" is spoken about, we see that those were extremely "culturally relevant" statements. In other words, in that culture, at that time, the men and women dressed like that and appeared that certain way. For a Believer to dress differently than "that culture" it would have been so drastically out of place that it would have caused a major distraction. As a matter of fact, an argument could be made that to appear drastically different than the culture would be inappropriate.

So what is right?
What is appropriate?

I think we should take Paul's lead (follow his example like he told us to in Philippians 3:17) and "press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own". We should just be ourselves. We should just be who God made us - unique individuals. I am not talking about copying the world and "embedding ourselves into the false beliefs and misdirected devotions" that others who do not have relationship with Father God are doing. I am saying that God is concerned with what is happening in our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). May we be concerned about that too. If being "culturally relevant" is what is needed, then may we be just that without compromising the fact that we are still "His own".

Lastly, some say that I only paint a picture of God as this Supreme, Loving, Forgiving and Gracious King of fools. To that I would say, you're just not listening. God is the King of Fools. That is true. That is why I love Him so... I'm a fool. He's my King. The Jesus we love and follow reaches down to the alienated and the dispossessed. He goes to the fringe and draws in the rejected. He lays gentle hands on the dirty and the ostracized. But He does not only touch and heal, He also instructs and warns. He tells the woman caught in adultery, "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). He tells the invalid by the pool, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you" (John 5:14).

Following Jesus is also hard-core, because He is hard core. He came on an invasive, dangerous, and unwelcome mission of mercy to come open and expose what was hidden in men's hearts (Luke 2:34-35), not ask them to read from the King James and abstain from dressing like a rock-star. His coming was not to be marked by peace and tranquility - He came to impose a test of absolute allegiance. He forced people into a divisive crisis of choice (Matthew 10:34-39). The peace He came to bring first triggered a war. He was on a guerrilla mission to infiltrate territory controlled by His enemy, raid his camp, and set the prisoners free (Mark 3:23-27; Luke 4:18).

May you and I, like Paul, realize that we aren't perfect but we are going to press on and make this thing authentically our own, because Christ Jesus made us His own. May we shout with a bold, confident joy at the dizzying delight of being chosen, of being welcomed in by our true Father and invited to sit with Him at the banquet table reserved for His friends.

But, as we celebrate how awesome all that is, may we never forget that the One who called us His own is Friend but also sovereign King - that He who gave everything up for us... calls us to give everything up for Him.

When Road Rage Gets Convicting

I ride a Harley Davidson. Last Saturday I was riding with my ten year old daughter on the back and a guy cut me off. He pulled right out in front of me, and if not for some fancy-shmancy driving on my part, my daughter and I would have plowed into him.

I laid on my horn. My motorcycle horn is really loud.

He returned my gesture with one of his own, using only a lone, middle finger. Then he yelled at us and either said, "Vacuum!" or something else... my lip reading isn't what it used to be.

I was angry. I yelled something back like, "Pull over and say that to my face!" Lucky for me, he sped off. My daughter then said, "Daddy, why did you say that?"

Ouch.

A while back I shared with our church some insight I had learned about a super puzzling passage in the Bible. It's one that I had never really understood, until viewing it through a Jewish context and Hebraic perspective. I'm finding that this is the case for much of what I don't understand in the Bible.

Romans 12:20 states, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

In this little letter, Paul talks about how to deal with our enemies and those who have wronged us. He says many wise things about dealing with others in this passage. I needed to read it again this week... in it's context:

Romans 12:17-21
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

As we read this, one sentence totally sticks out to me that doesn't make sense - that one about heaping burning coals on an enemy's head. I have always wondered what Paul meant by this. I mean, smack dab in the middle of him telling us how we're not supposed to take revenge and how we're supposed to be super nice to everybody... he drops this flaming bomb "you'll heap burning coals on his head". Wow... that seems aggressive. In the past I've read this and thought to myself: "Okay Michael, just be nice to the jerks that are mean to you, and man you'll really get them because it'll be like burning coals on top of their heads. God will get 'em for me! God is going to make them burn!" That doesn't sound too loving of God... or of me, does it?

It helps to know that Paul is actually quoting Proverbs 25:21-22: "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you." Understanding this proverb will unlock Paul's words as well.

That saying is in the middle of several proverbs that use physical images to describe emotional reactions. Right before it is the passage, "Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or one that pours vinegar on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart" (Proverbs 25:20). The physical picture of discomfort illustrates that trying to make a person in mourning happy just bums them out even more. Likewise, the passage about coals is about the emotional discomfort an enemy will feel when you waken his conscience about his conduct toward you.

Here's another fascinating reference to burning coals: Isaiah 6:5-7 "Then I said, 'Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.'"

Last weekend we sang a song at Desperation Church that speaks of this event in Isaiah 6. The words are: "The angel came and touched the coal to my lips. Now my guilt is gone, and my sins have been forgiven!" Whenever we sing that song, I wonder if everyone in the room has any clue how powerful what they are singing really is?

On the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) coals of fire were carried by the high priest into the Most Holy Place (according to Leviticus 16:12), where sacrifice was made to atone for his own sin and that of the people. So the coals speak of cleansing and of transforming someone full of sin into someone forgiven of their sin.

A burning coal to the lips would normally have tortured a person. Instead, Isaiah being cut to the core over his sinfulness, allowed that coal to sanctify and transform him. Likewise, the coals of your kindness heaped on the head of those who are mean to you have the ability to transform them and melt their sinful heart.

So Paul uses this picture of putting coals on a person's head, which initially sounds like a picture of causing burning pain, but it really is not. Instead, it seems to be a picture of stirring up the coals of a fire to rouse it back to life again. It is a picture of stirring within a person a response of remorse, when they see your kindness in the face of their meanness. This must also be the sense of Paul's message - we cause our enemies to be remorseful for their actions toward us, and in doing so we overcome evil by doing good.

I hate that I get so upset about stuff.
I hate that, all too often, my first response is not "overcoming evil by doing good".

May I, like Paul admonished, be a man that never returns evil for evil, but seeks the coal to heap on the heads of my enemies in order to melt away their meanness - by truly loving them with all that I have... and all that I am. And when that, inevitably, is super-hard to do - May I, like Isaiah, seek the coal to cleanse me personally of my own sin, in order to truly be transformed into what Father God is wanting me to be.

Hello My Baby...

During my lunch break today I sat in my office and recalled a favorite childhood memory. It's an old cartoon that I absolutely loved! I searched and found it (man, I love youtube sometimes). I want to share it with you. I triple-dog-dare ya to take 6 minutes from your busy life, watch this cartoon, and be a kid again.

After watching it, answer this for me: Why does the following cartoon make me smile? Is it the perversity of it? Is it that I relate? If so, what is it that I relate to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGE8wVTvHF0&feature=related

R.S.V.P.

"You've been especially and specifically chosen to come and test-drive our car," the invitation read in my mailbox. But when I saw that it was addressed to "Occupant," I wondered how specifically chosen I really was. Many invitations are humorous. Some are dubious. But some are actually pretty awesome. The Bible has a bunch of invitations like that - that have meant a great deal to me over the years...

Exodus 32:26a
"then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!"...

Isaiah 55:1
"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."

Matthew 11:28
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

John 7:37-38
"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Revelation 22:17
"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."

See what I mean, there are some pretty cool invitations in the Bible. Maybe none as powerful and meaningful as the one I read this morning during my Desperation Journal time:

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool."

Isaiah was writing to people who were totally abandoning their former religious beliefs (apostasy). They were rebelling against the Lord and not interested in obeying Him. Yet, instead of giving a word of annihilation, the Lord, in His matchless grace and mercy, offers a word of invitation. To people who were, at best, apathetic toward Him, the Lord says, "Come on... let's reason together. Think with Me. Consider with Me."

And that's the message for me today too. "Come now, Michael, let's reason together." Sin is sick. It's not bad because it's forbidden by God. Rather sin is forbidden by God because it's bad. He knows it destroys, erodes, ruins, and harms. So He invites us to come to Him and learn why it is unreasonable for us to continue in sin any longer.

I presently know people who were at one time 'radical' for God, but are now in rebellion. All of a sudden, they seem to be apathetic towards God. They skip church, they're involved in things that previously they would have NEVER been involved in. For some reason, sin has become MORE attractive to them than God and living for His Kingdom. Oh, how I wish they could sit for a moment with the Lord... and consider... reason... learn... why it is unreasonable for them to continue in sin any longer.

Here's some things I think they'd have to consider(For sake of time, I won't type out the Bible verses, but trust me, they're worth checking out):

First, sin is like a disgusting disease that pollutes the entire body. (Isaiah 1:5-6). The Book of Romans further describes how sin takes over every part of our being and influences us negatively. A person might look healthy on the outside, but if he is knowingly walking in sin, his very nature is being eroded and destroyed. That is why it's only reasonable for us to consider our sin and repent from it.

Second, sin is a binding cord that holds man in its power (Proverbs 5:22). "I'm free," the sinner insists. "It doesn't matter what I do." And yet when he finds himself addicted, infected with disease, or haunted by guilt; when his family, integrity, and personality are destroyed, he realizes that he is anything but free - that he is bound by the cord of sin.

Third, sin is a destroyer of rest, a disturber of peace. (Psalm 38:3). Sin robs us of the rest, peace, and tranquility we long for and which we once enjoyed. That's why our Father says, "Because I want you to have peace and I want you to be at rest, I want you to stay away from sin.

Fourth, sin is like a foggy cloud that hides the face of God from us. (Isaiah 59:2). Just like when the clouds are in the sky and we can't see the sun, when people say, "Where is God? I can't feel Him. I can't sense Him. Where is He?" very frequently, it's usually due to sin that has come between them and the Son, muting His voice or obscuring His face from them.

Fifth, sin is a clever detective that will find us out (Numbers 32:23). Not only does sin suck us in, but it makes our sin known. There really are no secret sins. We might think we get away with sin for awhile, but according to the Word, we can be sure that sin is a clever detective that will suck us in and then seek us out.

Finally, sin is a thief. It actually robs of blessings and it strips and starves the soul (Jeremiah 5:24-25). God wants to rain blessings upon us and give tremendous harvests to us. It is only our sin that prevents the rain of blessings and abundant harvest that God desires for us to have.

You see,... sin stinks. It holds back God's blessings from our lives, obscures God's vision from our eyes, sneaks up on us and then makes itself known to all people. It erodes, corrupts, and torments. But God says that even though our sins be as bright as crimson and as visible as scarlet, even though they can be seen for miles away, we are invited to come to Him and let Him deal with them.

"No matter how glaring and bright your sin might be, I can make it white as snow," our Father in heaven says to us. I think maybe that I've heard that so many times that it has lost a bit of its meaning to me.

In London many years ago, a minister and his young son were standing in their window, looking down at the street as a parade passed by. In this parade, along with the clown and marching bands, British soldiers marched in their red coats.
"Look at those soldiers, Daddy!" the little boy said. "Look how white their coats are!"
"Their coats are red, son," the minister said.
"No, Daddy, they're white," the little boy insisted.
And when the minister stooped down to his son's vantage point, he saw that his son was looking through a pane of stained glass that bordered the window. Seen through the red glass, the red coats appeared to be white.
Suddenly a light went on in the minister's head. "That's it!" he thought. "Though my sins are scarlet, the Father looks at them through the filter of the blood of His Son and sees me white and pure and clean."

Though my own sins are as scarlet - glaring and ugly - I choose to heed the invitation of my Father who says, "Come, let us reason together. Stay away from sin in the future and confess the sin of your past. Realize it can be white as snow because of the blood of My Son."

Today, I am encouraged to take the Lord up on His invitation. If you've actually read this far, then I hope you are encouraged too. Come to Him. Reason with Him. Repent of any sin the Holy Spirit is bringing to your mind right now. It might be something obvious or something subtle, but you know it's a cord that is beginning to wrap itself tightly around you, a worm eating away inside of you, a detective beginning to follow you, a cloud obscuring God's glory from you, a thief robbing the harvest from you.

"Come," Jesus says. "Come now."

What Stinks?

"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, He brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way to salvation - an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse.
This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on? No - but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can."

It's kinda funny how when I read the Bible it actually speaks to me right exactly where I'm livin'. (The above passage is from 2 Corinthians 2:14-17.)

Paul was this preacher who understood that not everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. Sure, to some people it was this "sweet aroma", but to others... it just stunk. It seems that no matter how they took it, he was trying to make it clear that his heart was to simply be "sincere". He truly felt as though he were speaking to these folks in Corinth "on behalf of God".
Wow. That is a "terrific responsibility". Is there anyone competent to take it on?

To truly "get" why Paul is talking like this, we have to understand that he had already written a previous letter to these people. We call it "FIRST Corinthians". To be honest,... It's a bit of butt-chewing, if you know what I mean. What I mean is that he came down pretty hard on them for some of the stuff that was taking place (and some that wasn't) in their community. He is not stupid,... he knows that many of these listeners didn't dig what he had said,... even though he doesn't back down on the fact that it was God's words he was sincerely speaking.

I love that he admits that "no one is competent to take on this terrific responsibility", however at the same time he also radically says, "at least we didn't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap". Wow... what a statement!

What if all preachers could admit that?
Truthfully,... can I? Hmmmmmm.... (selah)

The truth is that:

• God always speaks truth.
• God is the 'truth'.
• Sometimes the truth hurts.
• We must speak as Paul spoke in this letter and with his bold attitude: "We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can."

"Dear Father, help me care more about what YOU think than what anyone else thinks. Fill me with boldness and let the aroma that comes from me, whether others love it or not, rise to wherever You are and be a 'sweet scent' to You. May I be 'sincere' and speak as 'honestly as I can' at all times. Forgive me when I've been anything less than 'sincere' and 'honest'. I love you 5. Amen."

The Critic's Choice

I'm pondering whether or not most people receive as much commentary on their jobs as I do. I often wonder if others receive as many approvals, comments, suggestions and rebukes. I am finding that I like the approvals, I occasionally enjoy the comments, I tolerate the suggestions, and I'm really not so thrilled with the rebukes. Is that normal?

What did Jesus do with His critics? Did He ignore them? Did He debate with them?

Knowing Him... He probably just loved them, or something ridiculous like that.

I was reading the Bible today and read this, "From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength Because of Your adversaries, to make the enemy and the revengeful cease" (Psalm 8:2 - NASB).

What caught my attention was that phrase, "You have established strength". It's from the Hebrew language, of course (most of the Old Testament stuff is). However, in the Greek language that phrase is translated, "to give praise". The Message translation of the Bible says it this way, "Nursing infants gurgle choruses about You, toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk and silence atheist babble". I dig that.

The reason I know how this phrase is translated in Greek is not because I'm some kind of a Biblical language expert, it's because the New Testament was originally written in Greek and this verse is quoted by Jesus in the New Testament. He actually quotes it in Matthew 21 when some kids were praising God for the miracles Jesus was performing. Of course, as they were doing this, the religious folks were criticizing Him. And right there is when it happens - THAT is when He quotes this verse... sort of. I say 'sort of' because truthfully, He only quotes the beginning of the verse - the part that says, "Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for Yourself" (Matthew 21:16). He left out the part about it "drowning out enemy talk and silencing atheist babble". Why?

Maybe because it went without saying - Maybe the children praising God was in itself the thing that was going to shut these critics up?

I so want to defend my opinions, my points of view, my beliefs, my doctrines,... my actions. I don't know why I allow anyone with an email address and a differing opinion to get under my collar. I'm thinking that maybe one of the best ways to shut the mouth of the critic is to just stick with praising God, like a child, with child-like trust. If I can just die to my rite to always be right and instead focus on Jesus (the Author and Perfecter of this whole faith thing according to Hebrews 12:2) I'm thinking the enemy talk and the atheist babble will cease. At least it'll cease to affect me like it too often does.

"So Father God, help me sing Your praises at all times. Regardless of how I feel or what I'm hearing from others, You are, always have been, and always will be... AWESOME. What I know, or believe... what I've got figured out correctly or what I've completely jacked up... all of it is not what matters. You are what matters most. Your amazing grace and unconditional love has captured my heart and blown me away. Build my faith, strengthen me in my inner man - that I might praise you with way more than my words, but with my life. I love you 5. Amen."