22 years ago today, I was reborn.

I don’t know what your journey looks like, but mine has been a beautiful and messy mosaic. Virtually every part tells its own story, some of them tragic and unsettling, until you step back to see the whole.

Some people seem to have clean stories. ‘I was lost. Jesus found me. My life has never been the same. My struggle was over.‘

That’s a wonderful story. It’s just not my story.

While my life was certainly never the same, over these 22 years I have found myself in some precarious situations. My journey has been one of wrestling, running, and resisting God.

It wasn’t clean and neat. In the contest of wills, mine seemed to be winning most of the time. There were some times in that journey I didn’t look very much like Jesus. I spent more than a decade running from God’s calling to pastor. I was saved. I was disobedient. I was miserable – all the while trying to convince myself that I wasn’t.

Even after God had finally chiseled away enough of me to make room for Him and I let go of the reigns, I had a mountain of guilt to deal with for even being in that position.

Here’s the takeaway.

It’s through the wrestling that God brought me ultimate peace and is shaping me into who He desires me to be.

It’s the running that finally brought me full circle back to a Father who loves me.

It’s through my own resistance God forged my spirit into willing obedience because I know His ways are best.

And guess what? It’s not over.

I still find myself wrestling over issues that should be settled in my heart. And so I will. And my Daddy, with all His might and power and strength, gently and lovingly allows me to punch myself out. Then in my fatigue and defeat quietly picks me up, dusts me off, and teaches me!

He speaks life into me and says ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you‘, ‘My ways are higher than your ways‘, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you‘. And I find comfort. And hope. And the strength to take another step.

And so today, I say ‘happy birthday to me. Thank you Jesus for redeeming me, calling me, and never giving up on me!‘

How about you? What has your journey been like?

I’ve been wrestling with this thought since I heard a guy say something similar recently:

Remember, the place you are today that once stretched your faith and offered you blessing will one day become a place of disobedience if you fail to take the next step of faith God is calling you to.

Wow.

It seems whenever God is really blessing a particular work, one of the biggest “arguments” I hear is that there is little depth.  That’s probably fair considering our misunderstanding of what it means to be “deep”.

This is not a post about what people really mean when they say that…even though it usually has more to do with a teaching style than anything else.  It’s actually a very shallow comment made by shallow people who are more loyal to a three point alliterated expository preaching style that Jesus, or the apostles for that matter, never modeled.

Real depth is measured in baby steps and giant leaps. It is more about ongoing sanctification than accruing more knowledge that we don’t apply anyway.

Real depth is about obedience. Yesterday’s obedience can become today’s disobedience. Depth is progressive…we grow deeper as we walk in obedience. The only step of faith that really matters is your next one!  Spiritual depth is not a destination we arrive at, but a journey we commit to.

Real depth involves sacrifice. Jesus loves us sacrificially.  Why should our response be any less?  Many of us live lives completely devoid of sacrifice.  Our walk with Jesus should cost us something, shouldn’t it?

This is not popular speech. We want the gospel to be attractive and draw people in.  We want a Jesus who hangs quietly on the cross but is raised in rapturous glory in the resurrection.  We embrace the Christ who liberally provides for and blesses his followers but we dismiss the humble, foot-washing, servant Jesus.

The thing is, He is both of those and much more.  Think about that the next time you or someone else says “I just want to go deeper…“

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”- Galatians 6:2

It’s easy to be critical.

It’s even easier to listen to someone else be critical.

What we’re called to do by Christ is “carry each other’s burdens“.

So stop pointing fingers, quit attacking with your words, refuse to listen to negative talk…and PICK UP A LOAD!

This is how we fulfill the law of Christ.

Change rarely comes without some measure of heartache, mainly because we are all creatures of habit and grow attached and cling to the familiar.  Change is often complex and very difficult (I did a series on “Change” last year).

With that in mind, I need to inform you that I have resigned from my role as Executive & Worship Pastor at Washington Avenue Church.  My prayer is that Washington Avenue Church would continue pursuing the plan God has purposed and designed them to be.  We leave behind many wonderful friends and some of the best ministry experiences of my life.

I would like to thank the people of Washington Avenue and specifically Chuck Bridges for the time we shared together.  Though we will be laboring in different works, we share a common goal.  That goal is that Heaven would be more crowded because of our faithfulness.  I encourage you to pray for WAC and its leadership.  Great things are ahead!

I would also like to share what’s going on with us right now and how you can pray for us.  Tabitha and I are in the middle of an intense season of prayer and refining the next steps God has for us.  As most of you know, we have accepted a call to plant a new church and went on a scouting trip to Boston, MA last October.  Upon our return, God confirmed that Boston was not our destination.

We do have a very clear sense of what God intends our specific next steps to be and are seeking confirmation of this.  Over the next several weeks, I will be posting more updates about what is coming up in our exciting journey.  Thank you so much for your prayers and I can’t wait to share these exciting things with you!

…but if it were, we would all be on equal footing! Nobody deserves the love God has shown us.

“Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.” – Psalm 53:3

Why is it some people act as if they somehow earn the respect and affection of a holy God?  Perhaps it is simply human nature that drives us to compare ourselves with those around us and say things like: ”I’m not as bad as…” or ”I am more committed than…“.

Thank God that’s where Grace comes in. Grace so amazing that it will blow your mind and turn logic on its head.  Grace that confounds the senses and delivers the impossible!  Best of all…IT’S FREE!

Grace that is earned ceases to be grace.  I’m going to type that again to be sure you read it right: Grace that is earned ceases to be grace.  But therein lies the beauty – it can’t be earned but it is offered freely to anyone who will receive it!  That’s some pretty Amazing Grace!

I hope that encourages you today.  I hope you know the security and peace brought only through experiencing the grace of God!

Remembrance should always lead to pursuit.

Psalm 44:1

We have heard with our ears, O God;
our fathers have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.

When we look behind us to see great things God did yesterday, it should drive us forward in pursuit of His calling today. Looking back is good…as long as it pushes us ahead.

Pausing to remember great things God did on our behalf yesterday is helpful and should cause us to trust His working on our behalf today.

It should not cause us to get stuck.

When a church, organization, family, or individual believes their best times to be behind rather than ahead – well…that’s when death begins.

I’m looking forward!

Close isn’t close enough when it comes to obedience. What if Moses had settled for “close“?  What if he had accepted that this was “almost” what God had in mind?

God let Israel wander for 40 years and would not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land because of a little disobedience along the way.  The results from this kind of blasse compromise could have been catastrophic!

Moses stuck to the plan God laid out and refused to settle for almost. So should we.

Genesis 18:19 says:

“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what he has promised him.”

God called Abraham to be a leader to his family so that he could become the father of many nations!

I have read over that many times before, but it has never really jumped out at me like this.  God wanted Abraham’s priority to be his family.  It was God’s prerogative and responsibility to make Abraham the father of many nations.

But not before Abraham was the godly leader to his family.

Abraham had to lead his family – so that – God could do what he promised.

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a

- Psalm 40:1-3

This is the miracle of salvation! I don’t deserve it…but He reached in and picked me up!  He rescued me!

That’s the reason for the new song!

I can hear the music because of my experience with Him.

Everyone can’t hear the music because they have no experience with Him.

But many will…and they will put their trust in the Lord!

Then they can hear the music too!

But not until then.

Here’s what we’ve covered so far: (and a link to the whole series of posts)

Post #1 – Speaking truth in love is hard but necessary for spiritual maturity.
Post #2 – Many speak truth but few do it in love.
Post #3 – Speaking truth in love requires direct interface with the person in question – not gossip with others.

Now let’s look at the final piece of the puzzle: What if you are the person about whom truth is being spoken?

How do you handle that?

Wow!  That’s a tough question.  I remember my parents saying on rare occasions “do what I say, not what I do“.  That’s probably good advice here.  No one can honestly say they enjoy criticism.  You think things like: If they only knew what I have to face…you think I’ve got issues, take a look in the mirror buddy!

But, since none of us are perfect, we will probably all face a certain level of criticism at some point. Here are some things to consider:

1. Consider the source – Criticism can come from all sides.  While God can give anyone insight into a particular situation, I very naturally trust the counsel of my close circle of influencers more than the comments of a stranger.  Why?  Because they know me and have more insight into my motives.

2. Get a second opinion – Ask someone else you trust to consider this.  This is not a good exercise for a mom or that friend who would never disagree with you.  I love having people in my life that feel comfortable calling me out!  It’s why I always maintain a relationship with an accountability partner.  Someone who has open access into any area of my life and will be honest with me – even if it’s not what I want to hear.

3. Lay it down – THIS IS HUGE!!!   This is a common place for breakdown.  It’s at this point you have to bare your soul to God and repent first.  David confessed it was against God and God alone he had sinned.  Spiritual reconciliation has to occur before any real or meaningful relational reconciliation between individuals.  Recognition before God that an action, attitude, or behavior is sinful places it consciously under the power of the cross!  That’s where the blood of Jesus can transform a situation and develop the new creation He has made us in Christ!

4. The human factor – Sometimes there may be relationships or situations that need mending.  This cannot be adequately dealt with until the spiritual issue in #3 is taken care of, but it cannot be skipped either.  Sometimes we just have to say “I’m wrong”.  This is also a good time to recognize the one who brought the matter to your attention to begin with.

5. Move forward – There is no way to predict the response of people.  Some will embrace you – others never will.  Some hearts are wired to hope for the best – others just need something to talk about.  There will come a point in time (and it’s different for every situation) where you simply have to accept that you have done all that you can.  You are right with God and you have made every effort to be right with people.  Then you have to move forward.  There is no condemnation in Christ and no time for you to hang your head!

6. Check-ups – It’s probably a good idea to keep a check on your progress in dealing with an attitude or behavior.  Again, it’s critical at this point to have meaningful relationships with people that will hold you accountable.  It’s also a good idea to ask God how you are doing in this area.

This is not exhaustive and there are unique situations…but this is a good outline when you are the one that has to deal with truth being spoken to you.

As we’ve already noted, speaking truth in love is not easy. Most people can’t or won’t do it.  Many people speak truth but forget the love.

Here’s another common pitfall:

Speaking truth in love does not mean sharing with a friend the issues you have with someone when you haven’t confronted the individual you need to…even when it’s cleverly disguised as a prayer request!

That’s NOT speaking truth.

It’s COWARDICE.

That’s NOT confronting in love.

It’s GOSSIP.

…Don’t give in to that temptation.  If you’re the one telling the tale – CUT IT OUT!  If you’re the one listening to someone else – confront them. Tell them not to talk to you about a person when they won’t talk to the person they have the issue with.  They might get hurt…maybe even mad.  That’s OK!

Refuse to give an audience to that kind of trash.

No good will come from it.

This is one of the hardest things to do, but here is something interesting about it. There are a lot of people who can speak truth with no problem. The doing it IN LOVE part…not so much!

It’s one thing to tell me I’m ugly.  We would know you are a liar and the truth is not in you!  Just kidding!

Seriously, let’s say I have an attitude that needs to be confronted.  Or perhaps someone has a certain behavior that may compromise their testimony.  It’s one thing to attack me and tell me my attitude sucks – or to assault the other person with a 10 lb. Bible and raining down a thousand verses of scripture on their heads.

That’s a whole lot different than approaching the individual from a heart of love (as opposed to self-righteousness) and humility (rather than pride, which got the devil kicked out of Heaven) hoping the best for the individual you are confronting.  People attack others and use the pitiful excuse of “speaking truth” when the truth is they do it because it makes them feel superior. That’s just wrong.

The “spiritual” formula is simple:

(TRUTH) – (LOVE) = SPIRITUAL PRIDE & LEGALISM

(TRUTH) + (LOVE) = SPIRITUAL MATURITY & GROWTH

How are you speaking truth?

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

- Ephesians 4:15

It’s easier to be silent.

You fear the other person’s reaction.  Will this hurt our relationship?  Will we still be friends?

You fear rejection.  What if they point out all my imperfections?

You fear change.  It’s easier to maintain the status quo.

…so a lot of us remain stuck…as spiritual infants in a world that desperately needs believers to put their “big girl” and “big boy” pants on!

What will you do? Will you speak difficult truth into a situation motivated from a heart of love?  Or will you be silent?  I’m betting some of you are truth speakers!

Tabitha and I sat the kids down to talk with them together.  They were very close with Nana since she had lived with my Mom and Dad for the past year.  We had been subtly trying to prepare the kids for her death…especially our youngest Gracie, who is 6 years old.

As I began to share that Nana was with Jesus now and that she had a new body that didn’t hurt anymore, Gracie had a remarkable reaction – she began to get excited!!! She started asking questions like “Does that mean her skin is new like mine?” and “Can she eat anything she wants to now?“

She was visualizing Heaven as we talked!  Her eyes grew wide and she was experiencing genuine joy for her Nana!  Gracie was almost envious when I explained that her Nana was able to sit and talk with Jesus face to face.  She said, “So she doesn’t have to pray? She can just talk to him like me and you?“  That led to another good discussion…but that’s a different post.

We should see more things through the eyes of a child.

“So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.“  – Matthew 18:4

It’s a unique form of worship known as the lament.

The most common examples of this particular mode of worship is found in the Psalms.  Psalm 13 is a great example of David worshiping in lament before the Lord.

In the first 4 verses of this Psalm, David cried out to God and basically asked “Where are you God? And why are you letting all this nonsense go on in my life?“

Have you ever done that?  Do you ever feel like crying out to God in anguish because you don’t see Him in your present circumstance?

David knew that God didn’t need His pretense.  The Father already knew the pains of the son.  David knew God required his honesty not some cheap suck up…or even worse – hiding from what surrounded him.  David got real when he questioned what was going on around him.

We can relate.  In the midst of a particularly difficult situation, we can identify with what David was feeling here.  We can even manage to scrape together the occasional whimper toward God.

The difference is in what happens next.  David turns it from whining to worship in verses 5-6.  For 4 verses he bares his soul and questions the whereabouts of God, but then David turns on a dime and demonstrates the beauty of the lament.

“But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me.”

David trusts God because he’s been there before!  He has seen  what God can do.  Sure, maybe he doesn’t understand what’s going on right now, but he knows what his Daddy’s capable of!  He watched while the God of the Universe showed off before and he offers Him the only conceivable offering worthy of the character of God…WORSHIP!

Why not give that a try?  The next time your circumstances cause your heart to ache before the Lord, try this:

1. Bare your soul.
2. Be honest.
3. Worship the Lord for who He is!

I hope you will find the lament to be a vital addition to your private worship!

There’s a ton to this Psalm. I’m going to take a look at the first 3 verses today:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:1-3, ESV)

CONFIDENCE IN GOD

Some say when you are born you only have two natural fears: the fear of falling and of loud noises. Others would argue that those aren’t fears – they’re actually reflexes. If that’s true…then we actually come into this world FEARLESS! I love that concept! We don’t stay that way for long though…

Are you afraid of the dark? One of my scariest memories as a young child is of the curtains in my bedroom. They had tie backs on them and when the night light hit them, it cast a shadow on my wall…of DARTH VADER!!! There are caves so deep they are considered to be the darkest place on earth…when the flashlights are turned off, the darkness that engulfs is so thick that people become disoriented and their equilibrium is affected.

David knows what the dark is like. David knows that light dispels darkness. He understands that God is the source of spiritual light in our darkness of humanity. But he ascribes more…God is not just the source of light…He IS the light! That is altogether different. I can get light from a flashlight…but the flashlight is not the light. David says that the Lord IS my light and my salvation!

How about dying? Even if you’re secure about where you’ll spend eternity, most people aren’t in a hurry to get there. As the masterful biblical expositor Joe Diffy says, “Lord I wanna go to Heaven…I don’t wanna go tonight”. But then again, while we will all die at some point, very few of us face the prospect of death in the manner David was speaking. Just so we are clear, when he wrote “when evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh”, he was talking about people hunting him down to destroy him like savage animals!

That’s not where we live…PRAISE GOD! But, we all have very real fears…and David’s words are a comfort:

The Lord IS our stronghold! My heart WILL NOT fear! I WILL BE confident!

Fear is rooted in an awareness of vulnerability and a sense of helplessness. David speaks of armies surrounding him and his corresponding confidence. Even valiant warriors’ heart race in the moments before battle – but not David’s – his response is confidence!!! That is not natural – it is SUPERnatural!

Charles Spurgeon wrote that “confidence is the child of experience”. David responded with confidence not because he was cocky or arrogant. On the contrary, David displayed confident humility because he had been there before. He made these statements in a real life situation from actual experiences with God. These were not theoretical statements – they were experiential!

I hope this is an encouragement to you. I hope your fears are neutralized in the face of God’s faithfulness and that your faith is stretched with each new experience.

I never cease to be amazed at my own capacity for doubt.  Tabitha and I are sorting through a host of different things right now.  We are in a phase right now where we are patiently trying to sift through a number of several different options.  At times it seems as if the minute we get something figured out, something else presents itself to be much more spiritually palatable.

That’s when my inner being gets involved.  That’s when the part of me that the Spirit of Christ wrestles with on a regular basis tries to latch on and take control.  It is in those moments I understand fully the thesis of Paul in Romans 7 where he questions the hold his sinful nature had on him even as he diligently and willfully seeks to follow and obey Christ.

Then I read the words from Jeremiah!  He is aware of ME.  He wants to PROSPER me.  He wants to give me a HOPE.  His desire is to provide for my FUTURE!

Wow.  I am so amazingly weak sometimes.

God confirmed over 3 1/2 years ago that we were going to plant a church (or churches) in a major unchurched city.  We did not know when or where, but we began making preparations at that time to be in a position to “GO” when God said it was time.

We sold our home in Easley and reduced our financial commitments as I left my professional career and devoted myself to full time ministry.  I had spent about 10 years in telecommunications and had a business partnership that was dissolved in April of 2006.  We moved into an apartment in October 2006 and our genuine attitude toward planting the church was “God we are willing to go wherever you send us – but there is NO WAY we are ready!!!”

Early 2007, God led us to Washington Avenue Church.  We made this our church home as we continued to proclaim the gospel and minister through Damascus Road Ministries.  In October 2007, I joined the full time staff at Washington Avenue, where I have served as the Executive & Worship Pastor.

One of my earliest conversations with Chuck Bridges (Senior Pastor at WAC) was about the vision God had given us to plant a culturally relevant church in a heavily unchurched major US city.  That was one of the primary factors that led us to WAC – the Kingdom minded vision of the pastor and the people.  Tabitha and I knew that this was a place that would support us and get behind the vision God had given us…without being territorial or competitive!

This past Sunday, we shared with our church family that God had given us some clarity on this calling to plant a church.  We believe we are being called to Boston, MA to plant a church that will reach people with the life changing message of hope found only in Jesus Christ!

While we do not know the precise timing or the exact launch date yet, we are diligently seeking to identify, assemble, and equip the rest of the TEAM that God is calling to join us in this effort!  Some will partner with us by praying with frequency and fervency.  Some may participate by providing financial support, while others will actually be a part of the team that relocates and invests their lives in the people of Boston.

It could take a year or longer to see everything come together and I will continue to serve on staff at WAC as long as I am able to fill my role and remain a benefit in the ministry of the church.  There will come a point in time (approximately 90 days prior to relocation to the mission field) where the demands of the church plant and the new calling hinder my availability at WAC making it impossible to serve in my current capacity as Worship & Executive Pastor.  Until that time, I intend to faithfully serve God and the people of Washington Avenue Church.

It is with the strongest sense of urgency I ask you to pray for God to clarify some of these details…as well as confirmation for some who are praying about being a part of this plant!

Here are some specific ways you can support us and keep up with all that is going on:

• PRAY
• Follow me on Facebook or join our Facebook Group
• Follow us on Twitter
• Scouting trip to Boston on November 7-10
• Support the plant financially
• Plan or participate in a mission trip to Boston once the church is launched

I will periodically update about the status of the plant here on the blog, but will utilize the Facebook Group as much as possible to keep everyone informed.  Thank you for your prayers in this mission!  My family and I are so excited about this next step of faith in the journey God has called us to!!!

Today’s my birthday.  Not my physical birthday, although I feel every one that passes.

Today is the day, 19 years ago, that I became a follower of Jesus!

BEFORE OCT 25, 1989:

I was a church attender long before that.  I sang in some of the youth productions we did at church.  I even had someone dunk me under the water and get me wet before October 25, 1989.

But that night was different.  That night, I met Jesus.  I mean I met him personally.  I understood that Fall night as a sophomore in high school that Jesus paid the price for my eternal soul.

That is also the night that God called me to preach his gospel as long as I am alive on this earth!  I was not always faithful.  I did not always follow the plan he had established for me.  BUT…ultimately I surrendered to one of the very few things I have ever been “certain” of in my life.

God called me to preach.  That is perhaps the highest honor I can possibly imagine to bestow upon someone.  Jesus placed 1 Timothy 1:15-16 in my heart as my life verse(s).  It says:

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

Thank you Jesus for choosing to use a pitiful soul like mine to reach out to those who have never heard!

I know it sometimes can be said that I hype things a little bit.  I promise this is IMPORTANT!

I am going to be sharing some big news very soon on the blog. I have to wait until we get past this weekend, but after that, I have some AWESOME stuff to share!

I KNOW…It’s a litle bit lame to throw a teaser like this out there on Friday, but I had to leak a little something.  It has been killing me not to be able to talk about it.

Monday…I promise…OK…maybe Sunday – it depends on how tired I am after church!

I took Monday off to spend with Tabitha and the kids.  It’s something I love to do…I’m just not always good at it.  I didn’t turn the computer on all day!  We didn’t do anything all that special…we just went downtown and had a picnic and walked down the Reedy River a little ways.

We just enjoyed the day together with nothing to distract us.  Just like I love my children and treasure my time with them…God loves his children.  In fact, the Bible says in Luke 11:13 “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!“

If I get excited about an afternoon walk with my kids…how does it thrill my Father when I walk and talk with Him?

I had an addict tell me a couple of weeks ago that it was harder for him to lay down the cell phone than cigarettes while he was in a 12 week rehabilitative home he graduated from a little over a month ago.

That got me thinking…

What is it in your life that would cause you the greatest withdrawal if you were to lay it down for a week?  Or a month?  Or for 12 weeks?

For me, technology is definitely one of those helpful, yet potentially idolatrous things.

I have said many times before, I believe technology will be the greatest tool for the effective spread of the gospel over the next 25 years.  Why is it that Satan can take anything that can be used for God’s glory and invert and pervert its purposes?

What would be toughest for you to lay down?

I read that quote in this post by Steven Furtick and it struck something within me.  I absolutely flippin’ LOVE the sentiment in that statement!

I may be remembered for a lot of things at the end of my journey…some good…some not so good.

With my whole heart I beg God to never let it be faithless.

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” – Exodus 14:11-12

The Israelites had taken a huge step of faith…well not that huge really.  Not when you consider the 10 miraculous plagues and the numerous signs God had already given them through Moses.

Nevertheless, they find themselves in a situation that seems impossible.  The Egyptians have caught up with them and they do not look happy.  There is no way out!  In this moment of faith crisis they do what comes naturally…they whine and talk about how much better off they were before they left Egypt.

They wanted to go home.  Quit.  Turn around and run.

Two things would have happened if they had done that:

1. They would have died –

Pharaoh sent the farm after the Israelites.  He was not looking to cuddle.  If he had caught them, many would have died.  The others would have been returned to a worse form of slavery than they had experienced before.

The majority may be the loudest, but they are not always right – especially in God’s economy.

2. They would have missed a HUGE miracle from God –

If they turned around, there would be no crossing of the Red Sea.  If they gave up when they could see no logical way for this to work out – they would have missed God’s creativity in making a way from an impossible situation.

Sometimes, God’s biggest move is not around the next corner…it’s right through the dead end wall you are facing!

What obstacles are telling you to give up…go home…or quit?

What is a hero?

Defined by the world’s terms, we envision some larger than life, super human figures.  We expect something of the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet variety!  At the very least, heroes are something that most people would aspire to become.

Defined by Jesus, it’s a whole other story!

During Heroes, we will be taking an uncharacteristic look at the Beattitudes from the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached in Matthew 5.  We will consider the contrarian view Jesus had of what made someone a hero and look at some modern day descriptions of what a real Hero looks like.  Should be awesome!