Archive - June, 2009

Seeking to Act.

June 27, 2009 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I have been reading an amazing book by Dino Rizzo called Servolution.  Dino pastors one of the most influential churches in America called Healing Place Church.  He really embodies the book that he wrote.  This morning as I was reading I was thinking about this book as well as out Beach Reach outreach today.  He says in one of the chapters that “Jesus lived his life SEEKING opportunities to turn His LOVE FOR PEOPLE into ACTION.” For some reason I just can’t get this statement out of my head.  I had never really thought about the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, was SEEKING, LOOKING, PURSUING ways to LOVE people but not just love in words but in ACTION.

serve2This is so powerful!  So many times in my life I have compassion for people or say that I love people but there is no action behind that love, just words.  But Jesus was SEEKING, or looking around every corner, at every situation for an opportunity to put His unfailing love into ACTION for others to see.  It makes me ask myself, “What am I seeking in life?”  Am I seeking to put my love into action with my family, friends and those who do not yet know?

I am so challenged today to live life a different way, not self serving but living life on purpose showing God’s great love for me with ACTION to others.

One of Those Days

June 23, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Do you ever just have one of those days where whatever you touch turns to chaos. I love it when I can do nothing wrong and everything I touch turns to gold, those days just seem like they come around so seldom. Most of the time I am fighting the chaos in life that I unfortunately create. Take today for example: Had a great time with God, went to a meeting with a guy who does a lot with the homeless in our community and as I am getting ready to leave I lock my keys in the car while running. That isn’t even the worst part, the worst part is that it is pouring down rain, I am now late for a conference call with my wife. So I am not in the rain trying to use a hanger I got from a local dry cleaner and just as I am about to get the locks to pop open the hanger slips out of my hand into the car. I end up calling a locksmith and it costs an arm, a leg and my first born to unlock my vehicle. Needless to say up until this point the day has not been great.

The thing about days like this is that a lot of times they would discourage me for not just that day but days afterwords. I have found that in life no matter what the circumstances, no matter how bad it gets, I have a choice. In life my attitude can either take me high or bring me low. You know our attitude determines our altitude in life.

attitudeHow is your attitude doing?
Are you focusing on the problem instead of the solution?

Today I chose to have a good attitude while getting soaking wet, looking like a fool and paying out the wazoo for the locksmith and PEOPLE TOOK NOTICE. I had multiple people say to me negative things and I got the opportunity to share about how it doesn’t matter how bad it gets there is always a reason. I was able to connect and encourage a homeless man while stuck in the parking lot. The lady in the office where I was meeting was blown away at my attitude and commented on it.

What are people noticing about you?

Full expression of love

June 17, 2009 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I had a great quiet time today with God. I don’t know about you but I have found that when I put God first, my day seems to just go so much better. I was reading in I John 4:12
“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

wired to serveGod is the all supreme being that we can’t physically see but see his attributes and goodness all the time.  God’s love is the most incredible thing in the world.  He gives and just continually gives to anyone and everyone.  I love the part of this verse that says “His love is brought to FULL EXPRESSION in us.”  I cannot even fathom what that would look like.  I have been trying to imagine his love being in full expression but just can’t seem to get there.  I bet that if I ever arrive at that point it would be the most amazing experience that I would ever have in my life.  I guess that I haven’t gotten to the point of realizing this because I haven’t “Loved each other.”  I don’t know about you but this is an area that I have continually struggled with in life.  Don’t get me wrong I love people but not like how God loves people and would be willing to give up his son’s life for people that don’t even like him.  That is a pretty intense love for others.

My prayer today is that God would help me love like he has loved me.  It has been so pure and unconditional, that even though I do stupid things and turn my back on it at times He is always there waiting with open arms to love me once again.

What’s Happening with Coastal

June 9, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

costal-community-church-logo-final1

God is up to Greater Things in Ft. Lauderdale.  I am so excited about what God has been doing for Coastal Community Church.  This past week we were donated 1800 square feet of office space.  On Saturday some of the launch team got together and painted the entire office and then on Sunday afternoon we went and deep cleaned the entire space.  On Monday we went to Ft. Myers to pick up some desks and chairs for the offices that were donated to us.  Now all we have left is to get a couple of couches, chairs, and tables to complete the space.  It is going to be a great place for us to do small groups, hang out, coordinate our outreach events and have our launch team meetings.

I had the opportunity this past week to speak to quite a few individuals about Coastal Community Church.  I was invited to a party by our worship leader who had tons of people interested in becoming part of our launch team.  It was great to share with them how we are a church IN and FOR our community.  That means that we are here to serve and love our community first and that by doing that, they would see Jesus.  People are getting excited about what is about to happen.  We also did an outreach to our local police station on Thursday morning where we brought them donuts and bagels for breakfast.  They were blown away by the fact that we wanted to thank and honor them for there service to the community.  I later got an email from the chief thanking us making the morning shift change such a big hit.

Starting on Thursday June 25th we are beginning our initial launch team meetings.  It is going to be so great to get our team together and let them meet one another.  We are going to be talking about the values of our church and how they will impact us and the community we live in for Christ.  I can’t wait to work with this incredible team to serve and love on our community, showing them Jesus through our random acts of kindness.

We are so excited about what God is doing here and would like for you to pray about being a part of Coastal Community Church.  For each one of us that can mean a different thing, so let me give you some ways to be a part of this with us.

  1. You can pray for the church, launch team, and Shayla and I.
  2. You can refer any friends that you have in the Ft. Lauderdale area to be a part of the church.
  3. You can move to Ft. Lauderdale and be a part of this with us.
  4. You can give financially to support the movement of planting a life giving church in Ft. Lauderdale.

    5. Please take the time to see what part God is calling you to place in this adventure with us.

BY FAITH

June 9, 2009 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I have been reading Hebrews 11 a lot lately.  It is the chapter in the Bible all about the heroes of faith in the Bible.  I don’t know why but I just can’t seem to get enough of this chapter.  There is so much wisdom to be gleaned from these scriptures.  I have really been taken by verse 3.  It says faith1

“By FAITH we UNDERSTAND…”

By faith we understand, not by knowledge, books, lessons, teaching, lectures, sermons but by faith.  I have been thinking about this everyday for the last week.  We gain understanding by faith.  When we step out and believe understanding comes.  The scriptures for me are so much more alive when I am living by faith and being stretched than when I am just living life out of memory.  It is in those times that we step out of our comfort zones and walk by faith that we truly understand and see God like we have never seen Him before.

Proverbs tells us to get wisdom and above all else understanding.  I think that if you and I are truly going to have understanding, we have to live life by faith.  We have to step out of the ordinary and live for the extraordinary. We can’t just be content with where we are but have to step out to live where we should, on the edge of life trusting in God.

Listen, most of the time living BY FAITH doesn’t make sense, it isn’t logical, to most it is foolishness but to God it is that place where He can reveal himself to you and calm your heart with understanding.  It becomes the why behind the what of life.  This is what I am doing(FAITH) and the why(UNDERSTANDING) comes.  Moving to Ft. Lauderdale to plant a church where we knew no one made no sense.  Leaving a cutting edge, growing church where I had a job that used my gifts and talents wonderfully was not wise in a lot of peoples eyes.  Faith never makes sense logically, only spiritually.  I want to live as close to heart of God as I can in life.  I know that God is constantly challenging us to look at the unknown and run towards it rather than stay complacent.

How are you living your life?   Are you living BY FAITH?

I want to challenge you with this, if your lacking understanding then you are probably not living by faith.

Lets be people who have understanding and live by faith.

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