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Day 3 & 4: Something Lost & Gained

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Day 3 & 4: Something Lost and Something Gained


Years ago something amazing happened. Jesus died for us, and we cannot talk about this enough because we are human beings and we are fallen from grace, sinners, and always in need of Jesus and his mighty love and grace. 

Ponder on that for a moment. 

There is never going to be a time where you will not need Jesus. You are always going to be in need of Him. 

Jesus however does not want to leave us there. The other side of this is that we are never alone. 

I was watching the Acton UMC services today because I am working from home from a long weekend of going to a Mavs game with my students and worship and mission trip signups on Sunday. Yesterday and during the season of Lent Acton UMC in all their morning worship services is talking about “love.” Also yesterday my wife, Amy was preaching so this was another great reason to watch their services.

So during the worship there was this video about the “Christ Story” featuring DeeAnn Hall, a friend of ours and a vibrant young adult member of Acton UMC. About halfway through the video she is talking about the christ story in her own life and how it has affected all areas of her life, personal, as a parent, as a wife, etc. After talking about this for about a few seconds she uttered a phrase that struck me deep.

“This Christ story is so fresh. It happened thousand of years ago, but even now it is still so fresh.”

Whoa.

Didn’t that resonate with you? The freshness of Christ’s story seems to be more powerful during lent, or is it that our hearts and our minds are attuned to the power more? The power of the gospel is the fact that it is fresh, alive, vibrant, expansive, external, internal, and on and on. It is one thing and it is all things.

Mind boggling right!?

Your mind is truly boggled right? (movie reference anyone?)

This picture above was taken by me for this photo challenge but it was also captured at Fusion Worship Wednesday at FUMC Cleburne Student Ministries where we engaged in prayer stations for the message that night. You will notice that the words are in different color. Being that I was there I know why. It’s because each of these words were written by different people. This was written on a prayer station called the journey, where you are encouraged to write words or draw symbols that symbolize your journey with Christ. To basically conceptualize your Christ Story. When we first started this part of worship tonight one of the first words that was written was “Alone.” This grieved me so I began to be in prayer for the person that wrote this word down and ask God to be with them and to send them the encouragement that they needed and equip the people in this person’s life that they needed. 

Near the end of the night I saw a new word. 

“Never.” 

Making it “NEVER ALONE.”  

May you know that the Lord of creation still has a story that fresh and vibrant in your life right now and may you additionally know that you are never alone.   

Amen. 

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YW Movement Lent Photo Challenge

Pictures have always spoken to me. There is something about imagery and seeing a visual representation of growth in God that has always spoke to me. So, naturally I love doing photo challenges because they really allow me to embrace this type of growth journey through Lent.

So, during Lent this year I will be doing the YouthWorker Movement Lent Photo Challenge: #YWMoveLent.

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So, let’s start things out already right!?

Day One: A Joy. 

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A Joy. If I am limited to one joy in my life to show visually it has to be one with my wife, Amy. I take a lot, and share a lot of pictures with my Amy. Of course it’s because I love her but also it’s because I believe that this year at Lent it will be much different than it ever has been before.

My wife is a phoenix.

A phoenix in the world of mythology which I realize is not based on fact, but myth, my Amy is a phoenix for many reasons but I will stick to two.

1. This past year was not an easy one because earlier in the year Amy was hospitalized with acute pancreatitis and was in the hospital for over a month. This was a hard time for us as you might expect, but now she is reborn like a phoenix that rises out of the ashes. Amy is now a lean, mean, preaching machine :), and everyday I am later for all that God has given me in her.

2. Amy is my phoenix because God has used her in an amazing way to teach me that I am and all of us really are accepted for who we are but through his son we are reborn in the newness of life. The past is gone, whats done is done and now we press on and look to God. This lesson has been a hard one to learn as it is for anybody because just like anybody we all have things in our past, mistakes that we have made that we would like to fix, but if we could do that then none of would be in the present. We would be too busy fixing the past to enjoy in the newness of life in the present. I thank God for giving me a visual representation of this in my wife, my best friend, and my favorite person to laugh with.

So today as I start my lenten journey my joy is for my wife, Amy, my phoenix.

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Midday Prayer

Soul of Christ, sanctify me;
body of Christ, save me;
blood of Christ, inebriate me;
water from the side of Christ, wash me;
passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me;
within your wounds hide me;
suffer me not to be separated from you;
from the malicious enemy defend me;
in the hour of my death call me,
and bid me come to you
that with your saints I may praise you
forever and ever. Amen.

Through our lives and by our prayers: may your kingdom come!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Everlasting Joy

“Instead of shame, their portion will be double; instead of disgrace, they will rejoice over their share. They will possess a double portion in their land; everlasting joy will be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:7) 

During the season of lent as a spiritual practice I will be taking the daily bible verse presented by YouVersion.com and blogging about that verse. Today’s verse is from Isaiah. Let’s stop for a minute and recognize where we are. Look around. Think about what all encompasses your life, the relationships, work, school, kids, spouse, think about it all. Reflect on it all.

When you think about your life and all that is in it how would you describe it?

Are you thinking “everlasting joy?”

Some of you may be and heck maybe even some of us think that way about our lives all the time, but I am going to go out on a limb today and say that the majority of us don’t feel that our lives are filled with joy that is everlasting and yet my next question for that is why not? Many of us directly link joy with being happiness and to a certain extent that would be correct after that is a part of the word’s definition, but really what is joy?

What is joy to you?

Happiness?

Content?

On Cloud Nine?

The feeling of being accepted just as you are?

Living your life unshackled?

What really is joy?

It is written in the Old Testament that the “Joy of the Lord is our strength.”

This is where I struggle with joy just being a feeling of being happy because when I think about God I don’t think he just looks at us his most prized part of creation and says, “Yeah I am happy with it,” but even the definition describes that good is happiness that is brought on by an exceptionally good thing, or a time of elation.

“The joy of the Lord is our strength.”

How would you describe the way God feels in this phrase? He is happy because we are exceptionally good? He is elated with us because of the happiness we bring Him? What would you say?

Ponder that for a moment.

Hear the truth of the Gospel: One died for all so that all might live. Not just a happy life, but one that is filled with everlasting joy, a joy that can only come from our Father in Heaven. A joy that is forever and that is not dependent on our actions or behaviors, a joy that is as constant as the wind itself.

It just is.

Know that you are loved.

Forgiven.

Accepted.

Empowered.

Equipped.

Energized.

by God, who when He looks at you and I is eternally joyful.

Amen.

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Preparing for Lent

Tomorrow night at Fusion Wednesday Night Worship with the FUMC Student Ministries at FUMC Cleburne we are focusing on how we can best prepare for the period of 40 days where we focusing on drawing closer to God. It is a time in the church where we are recognizing the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness and was tempted by Satan but stayed committed to his call from God, his father.

I love this time of year. It is always a time where in my prayers I pray a very specific prayer.

Now the entire prayer is not so specific, but a part of it is.

“Create in me a clean heart God and put a new and faithful spirit within me. Wash me by your grace and fill me with your spirit.”

Everyday through lent I will be praying this without ceasing.

I think that is core truth of lent.

To actively draw near to God without ceasing, with every fiber in our being that we would seek and desire to be near God at all times. Lent teaches us that this seeking and this desire is what makes our lives abundant in Christ. Throughout my life I have gone to scripture to assist me in this abundant life, as we prepare for the lent season this year let us look to Psalm 51 to guide through Lent.

Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
    Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
    purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
    my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
    I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
    completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
    from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
    you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.[a]

7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
    wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
    let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
    wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
    put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
    please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
    and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
    and sinners will come back to you.

14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
    so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
    If I gave an entirely burned offering,
    you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.[b]
    You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
18 Do good things for Zion by your favor.
    Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
    entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
        Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

 

I pray that during Lent we all pray that God would create in us a clean heart and that he would return the joy of His salvation and sustain us with a willing spirit.

We ask all this in Jesus.

Amen.