REDEMPTION

The following video is a powerful picture of what God can do in the life of ANYBODY. Joshua Harris is just one of the many whose lives are being radically altared by the reality of Jesus Christ.



Please leave a comment if this has meant something to you...

A Hairy Situation

I have this good friend, his dad has cancer.

If you've ever had somebody close to you wrestle with a sickness that brings with it the fear of death, you understand what he's been dealing with. I have. I can tell you that God was there in those moments, but it was still one of the toughest seasons of my life.

One of the things that can happen in those seasons is an overwhelming desire to "Do Something". Deep down might be a realization that nothing we do will actually help, but that feeling of total powerlessness can lead to subterranean depths of despair. So we try.

Sometimes, all we can do is try.

My friend’s dad has colon cancer. I love my friend. I don’t really know his dad all that well… but I love my friend. That love makes me want to do something too.

My friend has courageously chosen to act. Interestingly, he’s chosen to shave his head in order to raise funds. The monies will go towards Hope Lodge, a Kansas City refuge for the families of cancer victims needing a place to stay while their loved ones receive treatment. Its part of the American Cancer Society… and it’s a worthy cause to be sure.

Shaving his head is simply a gimmick… it’s just my friend’s way of doing… something.

I’m joining my friend’s cause. I won’t be shaving my head (I really don’t have much more I could shave), but I will be doing my best to help him raise funds. Could you possibly throw a few dollars towards his cause? It’s as simple as clicking here: I CAN DO SOMETHING

ANYTHING will help, and with the technology available, it really couldn't be easier.

My friend, Bil Brown, has been growing his hair out for a year. In a few short weeks he’ll be sitting on a stage and his father will be shaving his head. It promises to be a special moment for them both. I want to be a part of that.

Thanks. Cancer sucks, but God conquers.

And Jesus loves you.

Happy Valentine's Day

You've never heard 1 Corinthians 13 like this:



All I can say is... "WOW".

Where Are All The Bible Answer-Men?

This video made me smile, so I'm sharing it here. I don't do this often in my little blog-world. However, for all my pastor-friends and anyone that has ever been involved in "counseling"... I'm hoping you'll smile too. I KNOW you'll relate to this poor guy,... but I hope you'll also smile.

What's YOUR Story?

Recently, at Desperation Church, we’ve been discussing the idea that we each have a story. Our lives, much like a story, are unfolding scene after scene, much like a movie or the chapters in a book. We’re seeing that Jesus means for our stories to be much more grand than many of us have accepted. He longs for our life’s tale to be mind-blowingly ‘EPIC’.

I heard of an idea from a pastor/friend of mine in the St. Louis area, named Shane Adkisson. He pastors Mosaic St Louis. Shane is an awesome Jesus-lover and a creative leader. He has an approach to hearing people’s stories that is such a neat idea, I wanted to steal it and share it here in hopes of learning the individual stories of those who read this little blog. You know what they say, “Copying is the sincerest form of plagiarism”. Shane talks about how he enjoys inviting people to tell him about one of a few different things:

• a relationship
• a project
• a moment where they exceeded expectations
• a moment where they were told they did a great job.

Here’s the only catch: One of these has to be from before they were 10 yrs old. One has to be from before they were 18, and then the rest from adulthood, but none can have anything to do with their present job.

I’d love for you to take a few minutes and let me know part of your story within these parameters. So often we define who we are by what we do (occupationally) currently. You may leave a comment here, or you may write to my email at: frontdesk@desperationchurch.org ('attention Michael').

Be funny, be boring, be whatever you want... just be authentic. I'd just seriously love to know you better.

Thanks so much, and from this moment on, may our story always be one that revolves around the Main Character, Jesus.

Net Prophets

Sorta bummed right now.

I just found out that the end of the world is coming on May 21st, 2011.
I think I'm supposed to be excited for Jesus' return, right? However, throughout my life there have been so many predictions on exactly when that was supposed to happen I find it hard to take it seriously. Apparently there is nothing new under the sun... except, of course, declaring that 'Judgement Day' will be on a specific day.

Sheesh!

I have so many problems with this, I don't know where to start! In college I remember being told the "88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988". People prayed and held all-nighters huddling together and crying. It was like one of those sci-fi movies where people are waiting on the roof of a building with signs welcoming the aliens.

Tony Campolo said it best, "Does wrongly predicting the end of the world ever get old? Seriously?"

My problem with all this ridiculous talk is not only that people ALWAYS get it wrong, and not only that these so-called 'prophets' are netting a bundle of money through their lies. My biggest problem is: What about between now and May 21st, 2011? What if Jesus wants to actually come like a 'thief in the night' and catch folks off guard... and come on January 30th, 2011? Or February 12th? Or April 8th? Is there a chance that people will "turn or burn" on the night of May 20th, but live like a rockstar until then?

Why wouldn't we?

Is Christianity really all about predicting the exact moment when Jesus will return? Why? For what reason? To prepare us? For what? Eternity?

I thought Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven... is now? If the goal is only to 'make the cut' on Judgement Day, then maybe my father was right all those times when he said, "After someone says the sinner's prayer the preacher should take out a 44 Magnum and blow them away right there and then!" Wouldn't that save us a bunch of heartache and pain? "Screw" trying to live holy and righteous and enduring trials and persevering through all tribulations!

I just want my fire-insurance and I'll pick it up on sale, on May 20th, thank you very much.

What if the goal of the Christian is not 'Heaven' and where you go when you take your last breath, but where you are and what you are doing as you take your NEXT breath?

Listen, Jesus is gonna come one day, and the kingdoms of this world will then become the kingdom of our God. It WILL happen, and that's awesome! But didn't Jesus Himself say that it is pointless to try and pinpoint its precise date (See Matthew 24:34-42)?

We should be very careful with this kind of garbage. For thousands of years now people have been predicting 'the end of the world'... and it hasn't happened yet. Truly, people can twist the Bible to state whatever they seem to want it to state and predict whatever they desire. We need to be careful.

Jesus could come on May 21st, 2011... and He could come today at 5:13pm. We don't know. And I'm cool with that, you know why? Because my goal is to hang out with Jesus now - to have relationship with the Father this second. I'm not in this thing to keep from burning in the Devil's version of a massive easy-bake-oven. I'm in it to enjoy 'LIFE' daily with the One that loved me enough to give His life for mine.

When we predict dates for Jesus' return, we not only jeopardize the validity of the Gospel in a multitude of people's eyes when we are consistently wrong, we promote the underlining message that God only gave us Jesus to save us from Hell. The truth is God loves you and I very much and wants to begin His intimate relationship with us right now.

May we all enjoy this day, and every day, as those who are head-over-heels-in-love with Jesus - ALWAYS looking for His return, but enjoying His presence now.

Loving Mercy

It is January 27, 2011. One year ago today I received a little of God’s mercy in my life. Actually, I received quite a bit of mercy… in the form of Merci, a beautiful little girl rescued from the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. She has been with the Craft clan now for a whole year and we couldn’t be happier.

Today, Merci and I went out to lunch together and then to ice cream. When I ordered a single-scoop chocolate cone and Merci ordered a single-scoop vanilla cone, the irony wasn’t lost on my daughter. She said, “Daddy you got brown and I’m brown and I got white and you’re white!” I took the opportunity to tell her, as I often do, that brown is my favorite color. She smiled and said that her favorite is purple, but she sorta liked my color too. It is interesting to see people stare at the funny-looking tattooed white guy holding hands with the stunning Haitian six year old. But I’m finding that as different as we may look from each other on the outside, we couldn’t be any closer even if we had the same blood running through our veins.

There is a Bible verse that is often spoken of in connection to married people that states: “What God has joined together no man can pull asunder” (Mark 10:9). I love that verse. I think it works for other relationships too.

In the dictionary, ‘mercy’ is defined: Kind and compassionate treatment – A disposition to be benevolent and forgiving – Something to be thankful for. The Haitian word for “thank you” is ‘merci’. I believe ‘Merci’ is the perfect name for our little girl. Kelli and I are enormously thankful to the Lord for allowing this little girl to be in our lives. It has proven once again that our God is kind and compassionate and loves us very, very much.

Today, I truly have something to be thankful for – her name is Merci Klarrah.