Believe God For The Impossible

Yes - I realize it's been a while since I've written anything. Busy days!

I was inspired this morning in my devotional time about believing God for the impossible. Often we tell ourselves, "I can't do that" or "That's never going to work" or "That's impossible." Sometimes we hear those same phrases from others. We often hear things like, "It's no use" or "Why waist your time?"

Mark 5 is one of my favorite chapters of all the Gospels. It contains the story of three different individuals who found themselves kneeling at Jesus' feet: a demoniac, a synagogue ruler, and a woman who had been bleeding for years. It's always fascinated me that all three of them found their rightful place - at the feet of Jesus.

The individual that struck me this morning was the synagogue ruler. His daughter was sick and he "pleaded fervently" that Jesus would heal her. Because of his fervent pleas, Jesus went with him to heal the girl. But something terrible happened on the way. As the man was traveling with Jesus, some of his friends reported to him, "Your daughter is dead. There's no use troubling the Teacher now" (v.35).

At this point, and to be completely honest, I think I would have looked at Jesus and said something like, "Thanks for trying to come. I guess I'll see you sometime later." But Jesus stepped in! He said to the man, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith" (v.36).

Can you imagine the insurmountable hurdle this man must have had to jump over to "just have faith"? Most likely, he'd never seen or heard of anyone else being raised from the dead. It's very possible he'd never experienced any miracle at all but ......... He knew that Jesus was someone extraordinary and he placed his faith in Him!

So, if nothing else, and as a reminder to myself, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). I can honestly say that there are a lot of things in my life right now that are totally impossible without the intervention of the mighty hand of God. I've made my mind up already that they're impossible but I also choose to believe today that with God, they're possible.

Give Me A Bezalel and an Oholiab

Throughout the middle portion of the book of Exodus, God had called Moses up to the top of the mountain to give him very specific instructions about how life was to be conducted in the Israelite community. He also gave Moses very detailed instructions about the construction of the Tabernacle - which was the Old Testament "church house" and center place of worship.

If you read through all the instructions about how the Tabernacle and its furnishings were to be built, you'd have to read close to 250 verses of details. That's a lot. If I were Moses, I would suddenly feel overwhelmed with such a huge burden of responsibility.

But fortunately, God knew that Moses couldn't do all of the work. As a matter of fact, God knew that Moses really wasn't gifted to be a general contractor for such a project. God placed His spirit upon two guys named Bezalel and Oholiab and gave them the supernatural ability to take care of the project (Exodus 35:30-35).

A couple of things here are important. First, God doesn't call the leader to do everything. Just because you're the leader doesn't mean you have to be the smartest or most gifted person on the team. It doesn't mean that you have to pretend to be either. It just means that God called you to that position first for a reason - and that reason is to lead.

Second, it's important to see that certain tasks are for certain people but the criteria in "kingdom work" is that the Spirit of God is upon someone - like He was upon Bezalel and Oholiab. As the old saying goes, "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called." So as a leader, it's important for me to be sensitive to those whom God has equipped and anointed for service and let them "build the Tabernacle." But again, the criteria is this: is it evident that God has equipped them with His Spirit and with a gifting for the task.

Finally, I am reminded already of the Bezalels and Oholiabs that God has placed in my life throughout the years. If it weren't for all of those people that have come alongside me, I'd still be stuck in the mud of yesterday. I'm incredibly grateful for the people God has placed in my life.

My prayer today: God, give me more Bezalels and Oholiabs to encourage me and help me to do what you've called me to do. Help me to be a Bezalel and Oholiab to others. Fill me with your Spirit to do the specific work You've called me to do. 

Renting Vs. Owning

This morning I met with a friend of mine (Brad Cowger) at my favorite local coffee shop called The Looney Bean. In the middle of the time together, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. After washing my hands, I used the paper towels to dry my hands off but something happened. A small piece of paper tore off and fell to the floor. Yes ..... the bathrooms at this place are always clean but .... it fell to the floor with all those icky germs and whatever else! It was a bathroom floor!!!

Now, get the context here. I love The Looney Bean!! The owner is great, the employees are great, and the environment is great. And not to mention, the coffee is great too! It's one of my favorite places away from home!

When I saw the piece of paper fall to the floor, I picked it up and threw it away. Something immediately within me said, "If that had been McDonald's, you may not have picked it up because that would be really nasty." But here's the difference: Because I love The Looney Bean, I take care of it. I also care about keeping it up and not leaving a mess.

It's the difference between RENTING a home and OWNING a home. No matter what you say, you tend to take care of something more when it's YOURS! When you are renting, you have an obligation to take care of things, but there's always something inside you that says, "Don't worry about it. The landlord will take care of that."

Now, here's the point. When it comes to your church, are you merely RENTING or are you OWNING it? In other words, do you take responsibility for getting things done or do you sit there and do nothing expecting someone else to do the job? Do you assume that the pastor is going to clean up that mess in the hallway or will you just own it? Do you assume that the worship pastor will clean up all the chords on stage or will you own it? All that junk on the table in the classroom .... do you assume the small groups leader will clean it up or will you own it? When it comes to inviting people to come, do you expect someone else to invite them, or will you own the situation and invite them yourself?

Bill Hybels has been quoted as saying that "The CHURCH is the hope of the world. When it comes to reaching the world, the CHURCH is God's plan A and God doesn't have a plan B." I love the CHURCH and God loves it even more. Let's love it for who God created it to be and what it represents: Our God's love for us.

A Great C180 Night

CHURCH180 Worship Team rehearsing before the service began. Great job!

I'm grateful for what God is doing in CHURCH180! Last night was our January preview service and it was a great night in the life of our church. Here's why:

1. People got to hear the Gospel again (Luke 15:11-32).
2. We had a tie for an all-time attendance of 47 people.
3. We had at least four new households that came for the first time.
4. We added two new people to the worship team.
5. The worship team did an awesome job with the music and the tech team did an great job doing the behind the scenes work.
6. The KIDZ180 team did a great job teaching our 0-4 year olds about the Father's love.
7. We had an all-time high offering last night. This will greatly help us continue ministry here in Montrose.
8. Our Launch Team did an incredible job of setting things up and they did it with a servant heart.
9. People were excited to be there.
10. At least one family seemed interested in joining the Launch Team.

For all of this and so much more, we are grateful and proud of what God is doing through our team! He is at work and we look forward to seeing more and more fruit in the days ahead. 

If you would like to be added to our prayer & update list, click HERE and let us know. 

C180 December Service Highlights

Hey Friends!

Just a few highlights of the CHURCH180 service we had just last night ....

1. Realizing more and more that we have an incredible group of people on our Launch Team. They really pulled together to make everything happen really smoothly! They did it with amazing attitudes!
2. We may be one of the smallest churches in town (at least for now) but we're doing ministry in some ways that some of the largest churches in the world aren't doing. I'm so proud of our team!
3. We've had some great musicians to play in our services and they've made a huge difference in the atmosphere of worship! 
4. Lesson learned: If at all possible, don't play a video live from the internet! We rehearsed it several times without a hitch but when we did it live in the service, the main illustration video was preceded by a beer commercial! Ha! Only at CHURCH180 huh?
5. We're grateful that we're providing an "outside the box" church for people that haven't found a church elsewhere or can't go elsewhere (due to the times they meet).
6. Christmas is more than just Jesus being born. It's about God born as a baby and born to die. It's about a God coming to be our perfect and complete sacrifice.
7. Figuring out that when people have a sense of ownership, they are more passionate. 
8. Lesson #2 Learned: Inviting someone to church begins first with establishing a trustworthy relationship outside of church first. People don't care if you invite them to church. They DO care if YOU care about them and meet them right where they are.
9. Just when you think that you're not ready for a particular task God has given you, pray. Then watch God fill in all the gaps. (I felt this way about the message I preached Sunday night.)
10. God is at work and we are fortunate enough to see some of what He's doing. 

The Refreshing Sound Of Profanity

I realize you're already not fond of this title but stay with me.

Nearly all of my life, I've lived in a "bubble." I grew up in the "Bible Belt", in a Christian home, went to church, went to a Christian college, went to a Christian grad school, and have spent nearly all of my adult life working in a church or other Christian environment. For Pete's sake, I bet our dog is even a Christian! Ha! You see, I've been in my "safe" little Christian bubble. Chances are that maybe your life isn't too much different huh?

Recently, I've been very intentional about trying to break out of the "bubble" and really spend time with people that aren't like me. I've taken a risk at leaving my comfort zone. I've stepped off the ledge. Some of you may think I did that a long time ago! Ha!!

In a recent 5 month vacation from my bubble, I've been in small group settings and even in one-on-one conversations with individuals that used just about every four-letter word there is. Profanity like I've never heard it before. And you know what? It was just about the most refreshing thing I've heard in a long time!! You know why? Because it meant that I was intentionally placing myself around others who aren't in "the bubble." And you know what else? I think Jesus spent a good bit of time out of His "bubble." As a matter of fact, He left heaven to come to earth. If that isn't leaving your "bubble", then I don't know what is!!!

Hear me out. I don't say this to be judgmental about those who use foul language. I say all of this as an indictment upon myself for being too satisfied to live in a bubble for so long. I say this as an indictment on anyone who's unwilling to leave their bubble for the sake of leading someone to Jesus. He's the One who left His bubble to save and forgive you and me (lot's of bubbles here).

So .... besides watching a sketchy movie or overhearing someone else's conversation, have you heard the refreshing sound of profanity lately? Have you been refreshingly uncomfortable in your surroundings? Have you left your bubble?


If not, find a needle, pop that bubble, and get going!!!

A Sneak Peak

This coming Sunday will be our second CHURCH180 worship experience and we're getting more and more excited about seeing who God will bring and what God is going to do!!

I've started a message series entitled, LIFE180. The idea here is that Jesus is able to take our difficult situations in life (even the ugly ones we get ourselves into) and can turn them around for our good but most of all for His glory.

To continue with this series, I'll be sharing this Sunday night a two-part message (don't worry, they'll both be short). In the first part, we'll be looking at our responsibility to trust and expect great things from Jesus. As a matter of fact, our faith is somewhat of an "activator" that is a channel for Jesus to work. We have a responsibility not only to have faith but to do something about our faith.

In the second part of the message, I want to share about what Jesus does when we have faith in Him and when we bring people to Jesus. Physically impossible things become possible. Spiritual despair is turned into hope and as a result, Jesus is seen as He is and not as how we make him out to be.

If you live in the Montrose area, we'd love for you to come and be a part!! Bring people with you! If you don't live in the area or you can't make it, we invite you to pray for the service. Please pray that God would have His perfect way in our lives and in what happens Sunday night.

We'll gather at 6pm at the Montrose Aquatic Center (25 Colorado Ave., Montrose). For more info, you can call the church office at (970) 249-0000.